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Tag: EmPower+

Webinar: Overview on The Upcoming Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Offering

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Programs: EmPower+
To: Contractors
Summary: Webinar: Overview on the upcoming Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) offering

Join the Single Family Residential Team on the May 3, 2024, Contractor Webinar, where Program will be providing an overview on the upcoming Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) offering. It is expected that the funding through the IRA Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEAR) Program will be available in late May; however, these dates are tentative. 

 During the webinar, Program will be covering the following topics: 

  • General IRA overview/estimated funding 
  • Eligibility updates 
  • Program process changes
  • Cost effectiveness criteria 

There are important EmPower+ Program changes related to IRA funding so it is essential to attend the webinar to hear about these Program updates and the IRA changes. During May, NYSERDA will be updating Program Materials, webpages, marketing materials and the NY Home Energy Portal (NYHEP) in preparation of the IRA funding. NYHEP training, office hours, and other important deadlines will be announced soon. We look forward to seeing you on May 3. For additional information please visit NYSERDA’s IRA website.  

New Call System Implemented April 17th, 2024

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EmPower+Archive
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Programs: EmPower+
To: EmPower+ Contractors
Summary: New Call System will be implemented April 17th, 2024
Contact with Questions: If you experience any issues reaching the contractor support team by phone, please send an email to support.residential@nyserda.ny.gov

The EmPower+ program will be implementing a new call handling system on the evening of April 17th, 2024. During this time, you may experience delays reaching the support team. If you do experience any issues reaching the contractor support team by phone, please send an email to support.residential@nyserda.ny.gov.

NYHEP Updates

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Programs: EmPower+, Residential Energy Assessments, Comfort Home
To: Contractors
Summary: NYHEP Updates
Contact with Questions: If there are any questions on this, please reach out to contractor support at 1-800-284-9069.

Thank you for your feedback for the NY Home Energy Portal (NYHEP). NYSERDA and our developers are working to make the requested improvements and release enhancements on a monthly cadence.  NYHEP will be updated on March 14, 2024, with the following changes:

  • All users: Ability to choose multiple document types when uploading a file
  • NYSERDA/Implementation users: Enhanced Implementation/Contractor profile features and management tools

Numerous back-end data exchange enhancements to streamline reporting and other bug fixes.

Clarification of EmPower+ Applications with HEAP Award Letters

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Program: EmPower+
To: EmPower+ Contractors and Regional Clean Energy Hubs
Summary: Clarification of EmPower+ applications with HEAP award letters dated 10/1/2023 and later
Contact with Questions: Empower.residential@nyserda.ny.gov

The EmPower+ program team is clarifying a miscommunication made during the Single-Family Residential Contractor webinar on March 1, 2024.

 During the webinar, it was stated that EmPower+ Applications with Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) award letters would be accepted, and the application would be placed on hold. To clarify, this is for HEAP recipients in Long Island who would otherwise not be eligible for the EmPower+ program. HEAP customers for the rest of New York can continue to use HEAP award letters for EmPower+ application approval at the $10,000 incentive cap. When OTDA funding is available, these projects will be eligible for $20,000 rather than $10,000. The program’s three year look back is still in effect.

If there are any questions on this, please reach out to contractor support at 1-800-284-9069.

Home Energy Assessment to Customers

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Program: EmPower+
To: EmPower+ Contractors
Summary: Contractors must provide a copy of the Home Energy Assessment to customers
Contact with Questions: If there are any questions on this, please reach out to contractor support at 1-800-284-9069.

The EmPower+ program has been receiving many customer complaints about customers not receiving copies of their home energy assessment. Starting on February 13, 2024, CLEAResult will verify that the home energy assessment report was generated in NYHEP as part of final project review. If the report is not present, the project will be pushed back to the contractor to generate the report and provide it to the customer. After the report has been provided to the customer, the contractor can resubmit the project.

Section 5.17 of the Program Manual specifies “The participating contractor shall provide Program participants with a finalized home energy assessment report within 14 calendar days of site visit. The report shall be generated from Program-approved software and include a detailed workscope proposal that identifies measures and pricing for improving the energy efficiency, comfort and safety of the home. The report shall include all energy efficiency, comfort, health and safety opportunities that exist in the home regardless of type of service(s) the participating contractor offers (i.e., a participating contractor with heating certification needs to identify applicable envelope issues in the report) while adhering to the policies and procedures.”

Moving forward, quality assurance inspections will also include an inquiry with customers to see if home energy assessment reports were provided. Initially, scores will not be diminished if a home energy assessment report was not provided to the customer; however, the contractor will be notified to send a copy of the home energy assessment report to the customer. If it is determined that a contractor is not providing their customers with a home energy assessment on a regular basis, CLEAResult Quality Control will work with the contractor to help them remediate this.

In addition to being a Program requirement, upcoming funding from the Inflation Reduction Act will make home energy assessment reports a requirement, where NYSERDA may need to show proof the home energy assessment report was delivered to the customer.

If there are any questions on this, please reach out to contractor support at 1-800-284-9069.