San Mateo County Residents Could Receive $2,500 Rebates For Switching To Electric Water Heaters

By On Mar 19, 2021

San Mateo County residents who replace their methane gas water heaters with electric water heaters could get discounts of at least $ 2,500, Peninsula Clean Energy announced Tuesday.

The discounts are a partnership between Peninsula Clean Energy, the official electric utility of San Mateo County, and the Bay Area Regional Energy Network (BayREN). Peninsula Clean Energy would offer a $ 1,500 discount and an additional $ 1,000 would come from the BayREN Home + program, which offers discounts for energy efficient home improvement.

Residential water heating causes more than a quarter of methane gas emissions from buildings in San Mateo County, according to Peninsula Clean Energy. Switching to electric heat pump water heaters reduces emissions and the electric heaters are more efficient than gas heaters.

Residents who participate in California’s Alternative Energy Tariff or Family Electricity Tariff assistance programs can receive an additional $ 1,000 discount from Peninsula Clean Energy.

Discounts are granted for heat pump water heaters that were installed by participating BayREN contract partners on or after January 1st of this year. A list of participating contractors can be found at https://www.peninsulacleanenergy.com/heat-pump-water-heater/.

Peninsula Clean Energy will also be offering discounts of $ 1,500 to offset the cost of upgrading electrical panels, should it be necessary to operate the new water heater.

Robert Whitehair, homeowner and vice chairman of Sustainable San Mateo County, a sustainability nonprofit, said in a statement that replacing a water heater is one of the best things people can do to help decarbonize their homes.

“And with these discounts, we were able to replace our model with a state-of-the-art, ultra-pure and efficient model that is roughly the same net price as the standard and dirtier type of methane. It was a breeze.” us, “said Whitehair.

Jan Pepper, CEO of Peninsula Clean Energy, said residential water heating is a big culprit in methane gas emissions.

“These discounts, coupled with zero-emission electricity made available to all of our customers, should have a significant impact on solving this problem in our communities,” Pepper said in a statement.

Peninsula Clean Energy supplies 295,000 customers with 100 percent carbon-free electricity with the goal of delivering 100 percent renewable electricity by 2025.

For more information, please visit https://www.peninsulacleanenergy.com/heat-pump-water-heater/.

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