California pauses home energy rebate program amid Trump funding freeze

cnbc.com:

California has paused rebate programs offering thousands of dollars to consumers who make their homes and appliances more energy efficient due to a Trump administration freeze on federal funding.

While a handful of other states also recently halted their programs, California is the largest state to delay a rollout so far — putting $582 million earmarked for consumers and program administration at risk.

California had issued its first rebate check to consumers in February, according to the state's Energy Commission.

«Many states were just getting started on their programs, and suddenly they're tossed into turmoil,» said Lowell Ungar, director of federal policy at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

The programs in question, Home Energy Rebates, were created through the Inflation Reduction Act. President Biden signed it into law in 2022.

The law allocated up to $8.8 billion of federal funds for states, territories and the District of Columbia to disburse to consumers in the form of rebates.

Consumers were provided up to $8,000 of Home Efficiency Rebates and up to $14,000 of Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates, per federal law. Maximum amounts vary per household, depending on factors like income eligibility.

The rebates aim to reduce the cost of home upgrades like installing insulation and heat pumps or buying efficient appliances like electric stoves — with an eye to also reducing consumers' energy bills and cutting planet-warming carbon emissions.

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All states except South Dakota had applied for the federal