DOE to release billions in stalled home energy rebates

States may finally receive funding for two consumer-facing, HVAC-focused rebate programs after more than a year of delay. 

Catch up quick: The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) allocated $8.8 billion to states to set up two point-of-sale rebate programs — the Home Efficiency Rebates (HOMES) and Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEAR) — for consumers who make qualifying home upgrades, including gas furnaces and heat pumps. 

• However, in January 2025, President Trump ordered that disbursements be paused. At that time, 12 states and the District of Columbia had programs up and running. 
• The remaining states, excluding South Dakota, had been “awarded” funds and were awaiting approval to launch their programs, but were thrown into limbo, where they’ve remained until now. 

What’s happening: On Wednesday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told the House Appropriations Committee that funds would be released “I think in the near future” — “probably,” he said when pressed about specifics, around a “few weeks.” 

• Asked about the withholding of funds, “We have looked carefully at a number of these broad-based programs that deliver money to consumers for rebates, for efficiencies, for upgrades — an incredible amount of fraud in that,” he said. “There was DEI stuff put into that.”

What they’re saying: “Now that all states have received awards, DOE may choose to streamline the program requirements to speed rebates to closely align the program with Trump administration energy affordability priorities and support households across the Country,” the Building Performance Association wrote in March. 

• “The HOMES and [HEAR] rebates represent critically needed funds to help homeowners invest in insulation and high-efficiency systems,” Kara Saul-Rinaldi, the group’s Chief Policy Officer, said in a statement following Wright’s comments on Wednesday. 
• “With energy prices rising faster than inflation and the peak cooling season looming, these resources are needed now more than ever,” she added. 

What we’re watching: A bill passed by the House in February would repeal the HEAR program, as Homepros previously reported. To become law, however, it would also need to pass in the Senate before Congress’s current session ends on Jan. 3, 2027. 

• The Department of Energy didn’t return a request for comment.