Geographically Eligible Territories
To: EmPower, AHP Contractors, HUBS
Regarding Programs: EmPower New York
Summary: Geographically Eligible Territories
Contact: If you have any questions, please reach out to your account manager or contact us at hpwes@nyserda.ny.gov.
In response to questions from stakeholders and participating contractors, NYSERDA is providing clarification on EmPower New York’s Geographically Eligible Territories:
- Geographic Eligibility can only be used for determining income eligibility for single-family residences.
- Two- to Four-unit buildings and Multifamily properties with five or more units are not eligible to be income qualified as geographically eligible and will need to provide alternate income documentation to determine program eligibility.
The following language has been added to Section 5.15a of the Program Manual.
Geographically Eligible Territories
As part of the Combined Residential Application, NYSERDA developed an income-eligibility tool to allow for low-income single-family households to qualify for Program incentives based on their location in geographically eligible territories where census data reports that 50% or more of the population of the Census Block Group have a household income that is below 250% of the federal poverty level.
If an applicant’s address is located within a geographically eligible territory, and is a single-family residence, they will be deemed eligible for EmPower and will not have to provide documentation of household income. An eligible single-family household can be owner occupied or occupied by a renter. Two- to Four-unit buildings and Multifamily properties with five or more units are not eligible to be income qualified as geographically eligible and will need to provide alternate income documentation to determine program eligibility.
An interactive map can be referenced on the EmPower Geo-eligibility Tool webpage, and shows the geographically eligible territories in blue. Enter an address in the search address box to determine if it is in a geographically eligible territory.
If you have any questions, please reach out to your account manager or contact us at hpwes@nyserda.ny.gov.