Wisconsin launches energy rebate program to cut costs for thousands

Wisconsin and the U.S. Department of Energy announced on Aug. 2 that the state has launched a rebate program designed to cut home energy costs, with an eye toward lowering utility bills.

The Home Efficiency Rebate (HOMES) Program offers funds to consumers that allow them to make changes to their homes to increase energy efficiency. These can take the form of air conditioning upgrades, ventilation, heating, insulation and air sealing (preventing conditioned air from leaving a building, leading to inefficient heating/cooling).

Gov. Tony Evers announced that Wisconsin has received federal approval for the upcoming Home Electrification and Appliance Rebate (HEAR) Program. The program will provide low- and moderate-income households with rebates for purchasing high-efficiency appliances and equipment.

“Together, these programs will save folks and families up to $1 billion every year in energy costs and support roughly 50,000 jobs. This is proof that we don’t have to choose between protecting the environment and economic development and creating jobs—we can and are doing both,” Evers said in a statement.

Wisconsin is the first state to receive approval for the HOMES program, which is a part of the Biden-Harris administration’s plan to send states $8.8 billion to help pay energy costs.

“Wisconsin is leading the pack of states building up their local workforce and keeping money in the pockets of their residents, all thanks to the Investing in America agenda,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a release.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters, an environmental advocacy group, praised the announcement.

“Energy efficiency upgrades are a huge step towards better quality of life for households across Wisconsin and can reduce pollution inside the home, improving health,” Jennifer Giegerich, the group’s government affairs director, said in a statement.

The organization said that it has visited more than 75,000 Wisconsin homes in the past year to inform residents of the benefits they can receive through President Joe Biden’s Clean Energy Plan. The plan is a bundle of policies included in the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act meant to spur clean energy initiatives and cut carbon emissions, the largest contributor to climate change.

The HOMES program is part of the Inflation Reduction Act, which was passed in 2022 over unified Republican opposition, including from the Republican members of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation, led by Sen. Ron Johnson. Sen. Tammy Baldwin backed the bill, as did Wisconsin’s other Democratic representatives. The bill became law following a tiebreaking vote in the Senate cast by Vice President Kamala Harris.

Baldwin praised the bill for its provisions aimed at cutting energy costs.

“We are making investments in a Made in America clean energy economy to boost production here at home that is powered by American-made technologies and products,” she said in an August 2022 statement.