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

Ontario County

County or city: Ontario County, NY Utility territory: Mixed — Rochester Gas and Electric (RG&E) for most of the western half of the county including Canandaigua and the Bristol Hills, NYSEG for most of the eastern half including Geneva and the Seneca Lake shoreline. Natural gas service follows roughly the same split, with a number of rural towns on propane or fuel oil only Verified: May 27, 2026 Source quality: Secondary

What programs apply here

Ontario is one of the few counties in New York where the rebate question depends on which side of the county you live on. RG&E covers Canandaigua and most points west; NYSEG covers Geneva and most points east. The Clean Heat rebate finder is the reliable way to confirm which tier applies at your address. The statewide menu:

  • NY-Sun: the state's upfront solar incentive.
  • NY-Sun Community Solar: subscription credits for renters and homeowners without a suitable roof.
  • NY State Solar Tax Credit: 25% state income tax credit on solar system cost.
  • NY State Geothermal Credit: 25% state income tax credit on ground-source heat pump installs.
  • NYS Clean Heat: heat pump rebates through the sponsoring utility for your meter.
  • Comfort Home: flat per-measure insulation and air sealing incentives.
  • EmPower+: no-cost weatherization and electrification for income-eligible households, and the delivery path for federal HEAR funding.
  • Solar for All: no-cost community solar subscriptions for income-eligible households.
  • RG&E Rebates: the utility layer for Canandaigua, the Bristol Hills, Honeoye, and most of the western half of the county.
  • NYSEG Rebates: the utility layer for Geneva, the Seneca Lake shoreline, and most of the eastern half.

What stacks at this address

The most useful stacks for an Ontario County homeowner:

  • Comfort Home + utility Clean Heat tier. This climate zone runs colder than the Hudson Valley, and many older homes around Canandaigua Lake and Seneca Lake have minimal insulation in the walls. Tighten the envelope through Comfort Home first, then size the heat pump on the tighter load. The contractor can usually quote a smaller system, which pulls the project below the headline tier maximum but improves payback.
  • Geothermal Clean Heat + state geothermal credit. Larger lots in the rural towns and on the lake hills often suit horizontal-loop ground-source installs. Both the Clean Heat ground-source rebate and the 25% state geothermal credit apply. Air-source installs do not access the geothermal credit.
  • NY-Sun + state solar tax credit. A standard stack for any rooftop solar install. The state tax credit is computed on the post-rebate net cost.
  • EmPower+ before a heat pump. Income-qualified households should run EmPower+ first. The free weatherization usually means a smaller heat pump and a faster payback on the remainder.
  • Heat pump water heater paths. Both RG&E and NYSEG pay the same heat pump water heater rebate through three routes: in-store instant at Lowe's, in-store instant at Home Depot, or post-install online. Pick one; the rebate cannot be filed twice.

County or city programs unique to here

Ontario County does not run a county-administered cash rebate for residential energy upgrades. The local layer comes through regional NYSERDA infrastructure and a few municipal initiatives:

  • Finger Lakes Regional Clean Energy Hub, operated by PathStone. The NYSERDA-funded Hub covers Ontario along with Monroe and surrounding Finger Lakes counties. Hub Energy Advisors handle intakes and route applications to the right program. PathStone is also the WAP delivery agent for income-qualified weatherization across Ontario County.
  • City of Canandaigua and City of Geneva sustainability work. Both cities have Climate Action Plans and sustainability committees, and both have historically participated in regional Solarize campaigns. Past municipal work has included LED conversion and EV charging at city facilities. Neither city writes checks to homeowners; both point residents to the state and utility programs that do.
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension Ontario County. Educational programming on residential energy and farm-scale solar.

Who to call locally

  • PathStone (Finger Lakes Clean Energy Hub): (585) 340-3300, saveenergy@pathstone.org. The first call for most Ontario County homeowners, and the intake point for income-qualified weatherization.
  • Ontario County Office of Sustainability: the county sustainability staff sit under Planning and Research. Useful for Climate Smart Communities questions and county-level grant programs.
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension Ontario County: (585) 394-3977. 480 North Main Street, Canandaigua. Educational resource; not a rebate intake.
  • RG&E or NYSEG residential customer service: the address-based finder at cleanheat.ny.gov returns the right tier for your meter without needing to know in advance which utility you are on.

Climate Smart Communities status

Ontario County is a registered Climate Smart Community participant. The City of Canandaigua and the City of Geneva are separately registered. Bronze certification varies by jurisdiction; confirm current standing on the NYS DEC list before citing a level in dated material. Municipal certification opens additional grant eligibility for resident-facing projects.

Important local dates

  • PathStone's Hub programming runs continuously, but income-qualified weatherization has waitlist cycles that move with annual funding allocations from NYSERDA and the federal Weatherization Assistance Program.
  • Both RG&E and NYSEG Clean Heat tier amounts follow the Avangrid energy efficiency program cycle filed with the New York Public Service Commission. Mid-year program-budget exhaustion is worth treating as a real risk.
  • Clean Heat block status and budget cycles are tracked on the program-level NYS Clean Heat page.

Source

NYSERB.com is an independent research site. It is not affiliated with Ontario County, PathStone, RG&E, NYSEG, 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.ontariocountyny.gov, www.rge.com, www.nyseg.com on May 27, 2026.

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