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Mar 16, 2021

Peninsula Clean Energy, BayREN Offer $2,500 or Higher Electric Water Heater Rebates

Joint effort centers on replacing methane gas units with all-electric

Peninsula Clean Energy is partnering with the Bay Area Regional Energy Network (BayREN) to offer San Mateo County residents at least $2,500 to install clean, safe and all-electric heat pump water heaters.

Residents who replace their methane gas water heater of any size would receive a $1,500 rebate from Peninsula Clean Energy and an additional $1,000 rebate from the BayREN Home+ program. Additional rebates of up to $1,500 would be provided from Peninsula Clean Energy for electrical panel upgrades if needed to run the new water heater.

In addition, income-qualified residents who participate in the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) or Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) plans will receive an additional $1,000 rebate from Peninsula Clean Energy, for a total of $3,500 in rebates, not including rebates for eligible electrical panel upgrades.

Rebates will be given for heat pump water heaters that are installed by participating BayREN contractors on or after Jan. 1 of this year.

“Replacing your water heater is one of the best things you can do to help decarbonize your home,” said Robert Whitehair, homeowner and vice chair of Sustainable San Mateo County. “And with these rebates, we were able to replace ours with a state-of-the-art, ultra-clean and efficient model for about the same net price as the standard and dirtier methane gas variety. It was a no-brainer for us.”

“We’ve already heard great news from two community members who have used this rebate and it's going to be a huge help for other homeowners as well who want a climate-friendly upgrade to their polluting gas appliances without paying more,” said Diane Bailey, Executive Director of Menlo Spark.

“Methane gas is one of the most potent pollutants helping to create devastating climate change and residential water heating is a big culprit in creating those emissions,” Peninsula Clean Energy CEO Jan Pepper said. “These rebates, paired with emission-free power provided to all our customers, should make a sizable dent in solving that problem in our communities.”

Residential water heating accounts for more than a quarter of methane gas emissions from buildings in San Mateo County.

New all-electric heat pump water heaters are at least three times more efficient than methane gas water heaters, are safer by omitting gas combustion emissions or hazards and use emission-free electricity provided by Peninsula Clean Energy.

More details are available at https://www.peninsulacleanenergy.com/heat-pump-water-heater/.

About Peninsula Clean Energy

Peninsula Clean Energy is a Community Choice Aggregation agency. It is the official electricity provider for San Mateo County and, beginning in 2022, for th

Founded in 2016 with a mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the county, the agency serves 295,000 customers by providing more than 3,500 gigawatt hours annually of electricity that is 100 percent carbon-free and at lower cost than PG&E. As a community-led, not-for-profit agency, Peninsula Clean Energy makes significant investments in our communities to expand access to sustainable and affordable energy solutions. Peninsula Clean Energy is on track to deliver electricity that is 100 percent renewable by 2025. The agency has earned investment grade credit ratings from Moody’s and Fitch.