Connecticut’s federally recognized American Indian tribes will receive approximately $300,000 in federal funds intended to help tribes establish rebate programs for home energy upgrades.
The funding will come from the Tribal Home Electrification and Appliance Rebate program, approved as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Through the IRA, Congress appropriated $225 million dollars to the Department of Energy (DOE) to award “grants to Indian Tribes to develop and implement a high-efficiency electric home rebate program.”
The rebate program is intended to “help reduce the upfront cost of efficient electric appliances and other accompanying home energy upgrades in single-family and multi-family homes.”
DOE can use 3 percent of the funds for program administration and technical administration, leaving approximately $218 million for grants to tribes.
Though the DOE is still developing requirements for the rebate program, it recently announced in the Federal Register that it was releasing a tentative funding formula and information about the application process to help tribes “begin planning collaboratively with Tribally Designated Housing Entities (TDHEs), regional Tribal organizations, Tribal utilities, State Energy Offices, and other important Tribal partner organizations in advance of the release of the program requirements in late 2023.”
Under the formula, the Mohegan Tribe and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe are currently slated to receive $150,147 apiece.
That number falls just above the minimum $150,000 that tribes can receive. The minimum grant allotment was determined in part by DOE’s intent to provide funding to every tribe looking to administer a rebate program. “To achieve this goal, the formula must provide sufficient funds so that small and under-resourced Tribes can successfully administer rebate programs.” DOE’s funding formula notice states.
As a result, they have provided enough funds to allow tribes to use up to 20 percent of their grants towards administrative expenses. With a $150,000 grant minimum, this will provide tribes with a minimum of $30,000 to put towards administrative expenses.
According to the DOE, the minimum funding level “will also ensure that each Tribe can provide upgrades for at least eight households at the maximum rebate level of $14,000.”
Another factor in determining the size of a grant tribes will receive is fiscal year 2023 data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) program, which will be used to determine housing and energy upgrade needs.
According to DOE, the IHBG’s program uses data points such as housing cost burden, households lacking kitchen and plumbing, low-income housing shortages, low-income tribal households, and local population in its funding formula, which are also useful for determining need in the rebate program.
As a result, eligible tribes will receive $150,000 at a minimum and then an additional amount based on need, determined in part using the funding level tribes would receive under IHBG’s formula.
The grants will be available through September 30, 2031.
DOE is seeking comments on the proposed funding formula through September 15.
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