About $87 million of federal funding is coming to New Mexico to make it easier for low and moderate income households to access rebates for home energy efficiency.
This money is part of nearly $9 billion set aside in the Inflation Reduction Act for a rebate program—something that officials say U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, a New Mexico Democrat, played a key role in securing.
The state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department Secretary Melanie Kendarine said New Mexico is the third state to launch the Home Electrification and Appliances Rebate program and the first to include a retail rebate. She explained that people can go online to apply for a rebate before they head to the store. Then, once at the store, the rebate will allow them to pay less at the cash register.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said this is an important tool in ensuring that people aren’t left behind during the energy transition.
She said that in states like New Mexico where there is a high rate of poverty “you can’t ask (people) to be greener and be consuming less energy” if they can’t afford the technology that will enable that to happen.
U.S. Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk praised New Mexico for the point-of-sale rebates and said that the state is setting an example for other parts of the country.
These rebates can be used for things like heat pumps that can help lower utility bills. It can also help reduce the cost of induction stoves and electric clothes dryers.
Eligible households can access up to $14,000 in rebates to purchase clean, efficient home appliances. For example, a household can receive $8,000 to purchase a heat pump and $1,750 to buy a heat pump water heater.
Heinrich said he became interested in pursuing funding for home energy efficiency rebates while listening to a podcast in March 2020 while driving his son from Washington D.C. to New Mexico. He said the podcast focused on the energy transition.
Heinrich said that emissions can be reduced through electrification, including hot water heat pumps that are more energy efficient than their gas counterparts.
Lujan Grisham said New Mexico is working to get the word out to people about the rebates, including those who are on the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
Turk said that the program will also benefit from word-of-mouth.
“A lot of these kinds of programs are going to benefit so much more from hearing from your neighbor, your loved ones, your relatives and the town over, as opposed to hearing it from us,” he said. “We can try to spread the word ourselves, make it efficient for people, but it’s really that word of mouth, and I think it’s going to get it done.”
Heinrich noted that word of mouth has been critical in the energy transition and that when one person in a neighborhood installs solar on their house, there tend to be others that follow suit.
More information about New Mexico’s rebates can be found at cleanenergy.nm.gov.