San Mateo County residents who replace their methane gas water heaters with electric water heaters could receive at least $2,500 in rebates, Peninsula Clean Energy announced.
The rebates are a partnership between Peninsula Clean Energy, San Mateo County’s official electricity provider, and the Bay Area Regional Energy Network (BayREN). Peninsula Clean Energy would provide a $1,500 rebate and an additional $1,000 would come from the BayREN Home+ program, which provides rebates for energy-efficient home improvements.
Residential water heating accounts for 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 helps reduce emissions and the electric heaters are more efficient than gas heaters.
Residents who participate in the California Alternate Rates for Energy or Family Electric Rate Assistance plans, can also receive an additional $1,000 rebate from Peninsula Clean Energy.
Rebates will be given for heat pump water heaters installed by participating BayREN contractors on or after Jan. 1 this year. Peninsula Clean Energy offers a list of participating contractors on its website.
Peninsula Clean Energy will also provide $1,500 in rebates to offset the cost of electrical panel upgrades if needed to run the new water heater.
Robert Whitehair, homeowner and vice chair 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 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,” Whitehair said.
Peninsula Clean Energy CEO Jan Pepper said that residential water heating is a big culprit in creating methane gas emissions.
“These rebates, paired with emission-free power provided to all our customers, should make a sizable dent in solving that problem in our communities,” Pepper said in a statement.
Peninsula Clean Energy serves 295,000 customers with 100 percent carbon-free electricity, with the goal of delivering 100 percent renewable electricity by 2025.