Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Boston on Wednesday to announce more than $13 billion in new federal programs and funds to help lower energy costs for households this winter.
The $13 billion, provided through the Inflation Reduction Act, will fund a grab bag of energy efficiency, home, and electrification upgrades to help people “weatherize” their homes for winter and assist low-income families with heating costs.
This includes providing direct consumer rebates for installations of heat pumps, heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems, and water heaters, as well as for upgrading electrical wires.
The funds will also provide direct assistance to help with high heating costs through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP.
The money “will enable up to 1.6 million homes to make critical upgrades to their homes installing up to 500,000 heat pumps,” a senior administration official said Tuesday in a call previewing Harris’s announcement.
Altogether, White House officials said the Department of Energy estimates the direct consumer rebates will save consumers $1 billion in energy costs annually.
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“President Biden’s economic plan is helping households access energy efficient equipment the next time they need to make home repairs so they can save money on their utility bills — not just this year but for years to come,” a senior administration official said Tuesday in a preview of the announcement.
The effort comes as consumers across the United States brace for sharp increases in home heating costs this winter. Rising energy costs have hurt President Joe Biden’s approval and damaged Democrats’ prospects in the midterm elections.
Households could pay an average of 17% more to heat their homes this winter, according to a recent report from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association.
The largest price increases are expected in New England, where consumers rely heavily on heating oil and natural gas to heat their homes.
The average wholesale cost of home heating oil has nearly doubled since last year, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
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As a result, the EIA predicts consumers who rely on home-heating oil to spend an average of $2,354 to heat their homes this winter — up 27% from the previous winter.
