CanaryMedia: "DOE bars homes from using rebates to ditch fossil-fueled heating." In a patently reactionary move, the administration's new rules block Americans from accessing rebates for electric heat pumps if they previously had fuel oil, fossil gas, or fossil propane systems. "The guidance, dated May 29 and announced in a news release on June 1, covers the $4.3 billion Home Owner Managing Energy Savings, or HOMES, program and the $4.5 billion High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate, or HEEHR, program, with additional guidance for Indian tribes participating in HEEHR."
HOMES program provides up to $8,000 for households to make energy-efficient upgrades, such as insulation, air sealing, heating + cooling equipment, water heaters, duct sealing, appliances + lighting, with the proviso that they must reduce energy use by at least 20% to be eligible. "The HEEHR program provides up to $14,000 in rebates per household, which retailers and contractors can offer at the point of sale, and can be used for qualifying efficient electric equipment and appliances."
Congress and the Biden administration had designed the programs to ensure that low-income + other disadvantaged households received a significant share of the benefits. "The new guidance is changing this focus, citing...administration opposition to considering diversity, equity, and inclusion [DEI] in federal spending and the elimination of Biden’s Justice40 environmental justice initiative." This destroys the programs’ support for shifting from legacy fuels to electricity for home heating.
“It’s a very standard playbook to incentivize fossil fuel companies and provide a lifeline to them,” said Srinidhi Sampath Kumar, director of the Sierra Club’s clean heat campaign, about the limits on fuel switching.
The US is now the world's largest exporter of liquified natural gas [LNG], which exposes American consumers to the pricing in international markets. This shows how the Iran war is infiltrating insidiously into people's lives + homes.
