DOE Restarts Home Efficiency Rebates, and Electrification Is the Biggest Loser
Key takeaways
- The department published an update on how it will implement consumer programs with $8.8 billion in funding.
- A coalition of states successfully sued to restore the funding, obtaining an injunction in March 2025.
- States have been waiting for the Department of Energy to reopen funding, a process that begins with this latest publication.
Why this matters: environmental and climate reporting with long-term consequences.
June 1, 2026 Share This Article Republish HVAC technicians install a heat pump system at a home in Charlotte, Vt., on July 21, 2025. Credit: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images Related Feds Fine Durham-Based Energy Efficiency Company $722 Million Farmworkers in the Hottest Part of California Find State Funds to Cool Their Homes and Save on Energy Are We Doing This Again? Home Efficiency Pros Are Wary as Ohio Gets Federal Rebates, Just a Few Years After State Funding Was Yanked Share This Article Republish Most Popular EPA Rollbacks Could Raise AC, Refrigeration Costs Despite Promise of Lower Prices Scientists Outplant Experimental ‘Flonduran’ Corals in Florida’s Dry Tortugas National Park The Okefenokee’s Bid for International Recognition Federal energy efficiency rebate programs will no longer cover a switch from fossil fuels to electricity for heating, according to long-awaited guidance from the Department of Energy.
The department published an update on how it will implement consumer programs with $8.8 billion in funding. The new provisions include eliminating use of diversity, equity and inclusion considerations, among other changes.
This follows legal challenges after President Donald Trump issued an executive order last year, upon returning to office, canceling the release of funds from Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, including rebates for home energy efficiency. A coalition of states successfully sued to restore the funding, obtaining an injunction in March 2025.