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New York Energy Resource Bureau
An independent homeowner guide to NY energy incentives
Source quality: Secondary

Monroe County

County or city: Monroe County, NY Utility territory: Rochester Gas and Electric (RG&E) for both electric and natural gas across nearly all of the county Verified: May 27, 2026 Source quality: Secondary

What programs apply here

Monroe County is unusual in that one utility, RG&E, serves nearly every address for both electric and gas. That simplifies the rebate question compared with Erie County (split utilities) or Westchester (split electric utilities). The statewide stack available at any Monroe County address:

  • NY-Sun: the state's upfront solar incentive. Monroe County sits in the upstate block; pricing differs from Con Edison and PSEG Long Island territories.
  • NY-Sun Community Solar: subscriptions to off-site solar arrays for renters or homeowners with shaded or undersized roofs. Bill credits appear on the RG&E electric statement.
  • NY State Solar Tax Credit: the 25% state income tax credit on solar system cost.
  • NY State Geothermal Credit: 25% state income tax credit on ground-source heat pump installations.
  • NYS Clean Heat: heat pump rebates delivered through the utility. In Monroe County the Clean Heat track runs through RG&E.
  • Comfort Home: flat per-measure incentives for insulation and air sealing through NYSERDA-certified contractors. Useful before any heat pump install in this climate zone.
  • EmPower+: income-qualified weatherization and electrification. Primary delivery channel for federal HEAR funding in New York.
  • Solar for All: monthly bill credit for income-eligible RG&E customers subscribed to a participating community solar project.
  • RG&E Rebates: the utility-specific layer — Clean Heat heat pump amounts, Smart Savings Rewards thermostat enrollment, heat pump water heater rebates with three delivery paths.

What stacks at this address

  • Comfort Home + RG&E Clean Heat. Rochester runs colder than the Hudson Valley or NYC averages. Air sealing and insulation through Comfort Home before sizing a heat pump can let the contractor specify a smaller system, which compounds with the higher fossil-fuel-removal Clean Heat tier when the gas furnace comes out.
  • NY-Sun + state solar tax credit. Standard stack for any rooftop solar install. The tax credit applies to the post-rebate net cost.
  • Geothermal Clean Heat + state geothermal credit. Ground-source heat pumps in Monroe County qualify for the RG&E Clean Heat ground-source tier plus the 25% state geothermal credit. Air-source installs do not access the geothermal credit.
  • EmPower+ + HEAR. Income-qualified Monroe County households apply once and the intake routes federal HEAR funding where eligible. PathStone, a local nonprofit, runs the weatherization assessments outside the City of Rochester.
  • Heat pump water heater paths. RG&E pays the same heat pump water heater rebate through three routes: instant rebate at Lowe's, instant rebate at Home Depot, or post-install online application. Choose one. The rebate cannot be filed twice.

County or city programs unique to here

Monroe County's climate work has historically been led at the county level rather than through a regional nonprofit. The relevant pieces:

  • Monroe County Climate Action Plan. Phase I (2022) covered county operations; Phase II (2024) extended the planning to community-wide measures. Implementation is managed through the Department of Environmental Services. The county hub is monroecountyclimateaction.com.
  • Community Climate Action Fund Pilot Program. A county-administered competitive grant fund for community-led climate projects. The fund supports projects rather than directly cutting checks to homeowners.
  • Finger Lakes Regional Clean Energy Hub, operated by PathStone. NYSERDA-funded Hub covering Monroe and surrounding Finger Lakes counties. Hub Energy Advisors walk residents through assessments, contractor selection, applications, and financing. PathStone also runs the Weatherization Assistance Program for low-income Monroe County residents outside the City of Rochester.
  • City of Rochester sustainability work. The City runs its own Climate Action Plan and periodic Solarize campaigns through the sustainability office. Solarize campaigns offer group-buy pricing on rooftop solar; the rebates themselves still flow through NY-Sun and the state tax credit.
  • C-PACE. Monroe County adopted commercial PACE financing in 2021. This is a commercial and nonprofit financing tool only; it does not apply to residential addresses. The program comes up often when researching county energy programs and is included here to head off the confusion.

Who to call locally

  • PathStone (Finger Lakes Clean Energy Hub): (585) 340-3300, saveenergy@pathstone.org. The first call for most Monroe County homeowners outside the City of Rochester, and the intake point for income-qualified weatherization.
  • Monroe County Department of Environmental Services: (585) 753-7600. County-level climate planning, Community Climate Action Fund inquiries.
  • City of Rochester Office of Energy and Sustainability: the City sustainability office handles Solarize campaigns and city-resident energy questions.
  • RG&E residential customer service: the Clean Heat rebate finder at cleanheat.ny.gov returns address-specific heat pump amounts. The Smart Savings Rewards portal runs at thermostatrewards.com/rge. Direct RG&E portal fetches have been unreliable in recent verification cycles.

Climate Smart Communities status

Monroe County is a bronze-certified Climate Smart Community under the New York State program, certified April 21, 2023 with 157 points across 21 completed actions. The current certification expires September 30, 2028. Several Monroe County municipalities are independently certified. The bronze level is the entry tier; silver and gold require additional verified actions on the state's certification action menu.

Important local dates

  • The Monroe County Community Climate Action Fund runs on a competitive cycle; check the Department of Environmental Services page for the current application window before assuming an upcoming round is open.
  • City of Rochester Solarize campaigns run on time-limited windows in coordination with selected installers. The Office of Energy and Sustainability publishes campaign dates.
  • RG&E Clean Heat tier amounts and Smart Savings Rewards enrollment caps follow the Avangrid energy efficiency program cycle filed with the New York Public Service Commission. Mid-year program-budget exhaustion has been a pattern with New York utility rebates and is worth treating as a real risk if you are deciding between an October and a February install.

Source

NYSERB.com is an independent research site. It is not affiliated with Monroe County, PathStone, RG&E, NYSERDA, the State of New York, or any utility. Verify all program details and incentive amounts directly with the relevant program administrator before making any financial decision.

Verified against www.monroecounty.gov, www.rge.com, climatesmart.ny.gov on May 27, 2026.

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