RG&E Residential Energy Efficiency Incentives

Administered by: Rochester Gas and Electric (RG&E), an Avangrid company Status: Active in 2026 Verified: May 27, 2026 against NYS Clean Heat program listings, search-indexed RG&E pages, and Smart Savings Rewards enrollment portal Source quality: Secondary (RG&E's portal repeatedly timed out during direct fetching; figures below were confirmed through indexed page snippets and the Smart Savings Rewards enrollment site)

What it is

RG&E serves Rochester and the Finger Lakes region — roughly Monroe County and parts of Ontario, Wayne, Yates, Livingston, Genesee, Wyoming, Allegany, and Steuben. If your address is inside that footprint, your heat pump rebates come through RG&E's participation in the NYS Clean Heat program, and a few other residential incentives run directly through RG&E.

RG&E is owned by Avangrid, which also operates NYSEG. The two utilities run similar portfolios but apply for incentives separately, and the contractor lists and application portals are not interchangeable. The Clean Heat heat pump rebates carry a contractor-certification requirement: your installer must be on the participating-contractor list, or the rebate will not be paid.

Who qualifies

RG&E electric (and combination electric and gas) customers in the Rochester / Finger Lakes / Genesee Valley region
Residential clean heat rebates apply to homes with one to four units
Heat pump installations must use a NYS Clean Heat participating contractor
Heat pump water heater rebates do not require a participating contractor; self-install and store-purchase paths exist
Smart Savings Rewards: residential electric customers with an eligible Wi-Fi thermostat on central AC
Income-eligible households can stack with EmPower+ for no-cost weatherization

What you get

Heat pump rebates (RG&E territory, via NYS Clean Heat):

Air-source heat pumps: up to $10,000
Ground-source (geothermal) heat pumps: up to $18,000
Heat pump water heaters: up to $1,250

The heat pump water heater rebate has three paths: instant rebate at Lowe's or Home Depot via an in-store QR code, a post-installation online application, or through a participating contractor.

Smart Savings Rewards Thermostat Program:

Enrollment incentive: $70 MasterCard e-gift card per eligible internet-connected thermostat
Seasonal participation bill credit: $20 per household at the end of the cooling season, contingent on staying enrolled and completing at least one demand-response adjustment without opting out

The air-source $10,000 and ground-source $18,000 figures are the same headline maximums that NYSEG and Central Hudson publish for their Clean Heat tiers. Actual rebate paid depends on home size, equipment specifications, and whether a fossil-fuel heating source is removed. RG&E's portal does not publish Central Hudson's detailed tier breakdown; the address-specific amount returned by the cleanheat.ny.gov rebate finder is the figure to plan against.

A separate RG&E residential rebate page covering insulation, appliances, and other efficiency measures exists but was not directly readable during verification. For weatherization-only work, call RG&E before assuming an amount.

How to apply

Heat pumps (air-source or ground-source): Enter your address at cleanheat.ny.gov/find-available-rebates to see your rebate tier and participating contractors. The contractor files the rebate; the check comes from RG&E.
Heat pump water heater (instant rebate): Purchase an eligible ENERGY STAR unit at Lowe's or Home Depot. Scan the RG&E in-store QR code to apply the rebate at checkout.
Heat pump water heater (post-install rebate): Install a qualifying unit and submit the online rebate application through RG&E.
Smart Savings Rewards thermostat: Enroll at thermostatrewards.com/rge. The $70 incentive arrives as an e-gift card; the $20 bill credit posts at season-end.
Income-eligible weatherization: Apply to EmPower+ through NYSERDA. RG&E does not run this program directly.

How this stacks with other programs

RG&E rebates layer with statewide NYSERDA programs. Stack the geothermal rebate with the NY State Geothermal Credit, which returns 25 percent of installed cost up to $5,000 on a state income tax return. Solar customers apply through NY-Sun and can claim the NY State Solar Tax Credit, 25 percent of system cost up to $5,000.

Weatherization sequencing matters in this climate zone. The Rochester region runs colder than Hudson Valley or NYC averages, so envelope work has a larger marginal effect on heat pump performance. Run Comfort Home air sealing and insulation before sizing a heat pump; a tighter envelope lets the contractor specify a smaller system.

Monroe County is a registered Climate Smart Community, and the City of Rochester has its own Climate Action Plan with periodic Solarize campaigns. Local campaigns generally offer group-buy pricing on solar and sometimes heat pumps; they sit on top of state and utility rebates rather than replacing them. Check the Monroe County Department of Environmental Services or the City of Rochester's sustainability office for currently active campaigns.

What to ask your contractor

Are you on the current NYS Clean Heat participating-contractor list for RG&E territory? (If they cannot answer yes immediately, the rebate is at risk.)
What rebate tier did the cleanheat.ny.gov finder return for my address, and how does that compare to the system you are quoting?
For a ground-source quote: is the system sized for full-load heating, or partial? The full-load tier is materially higher.
Are you handling the rebate paperwork end-to-end, or do I need to submit anything myself?
For a heat pump water heater: is the unit on RG&E's eligible list, and which path are you using — instant, post-install, or contractor-filed?

Common pitfalls

Confusing RG&E with NYSEG. Both are Avangrid, both run Clean Heat rebates, but participating-contractor lists and application portals are separate. A NYSEG-certified contractor working in Rochester is not automatically RG&E-eligible.
Assuming Buffalo-area programs apply. Buffalo and Western New York outside the Finger Lakes are National Grid territory. National Grid runs its own Clean Heat tiers and residential rebate set; the dollar amounts do not transfer.
Trying to fetch rge.com directly. The Avangrid portal frequently times out, even for browser sessions. If a page will not load, the cleanheat.ny.gov finder is the working path for address-specific amounts.
Skipping the contractor certification check. A non-participating contractor cannot file a Clean Heat rebate, and there is no after-the-fact exception. Confirm status before signing.
Heat pump water heater path confusion. The same $1,250 rebate runs through three routes (Lowe's instant, Home Depot instant, online post-install). Pick one. Do not attempt to file twice.

Important dates

No expiration dates are published for RG&E's Clean Heat tiers or the Smart Savings Rewards thermostat program as of May 27, 2026. Tier amounts are revised periodically; verify against the cleanheat.ny.gov finder at the time of installation.

Source

NYS Clean Heat Rebate Program — RG&E page (search-indexed; portal fetch timed out) (referenced May 27, 2026; source for $10,000 air-source / $18,000 ground-source / $1,250 heat pump water heater figures and the one-to-four-unit residential eligibility rule)
RG&E Residential Rebates and Programs (portal fetch timed out) (referenced May 27, 2026)
Smart Savings Rewards Thermostat Enrollment Portal (retrieved May 27, 2026; source for $70 enrollment incentive and $20 seasonal bill credit)
NYS Clean Heat Rebate Finder (retrieved May 27, 2026; working path for Rochester-area address-specific amounts)
NYSERDA Heat Pump Program Overview (retrieved May 27, 2026; statewide framing)

Source-quality note: rge.com timed out on direct fetch on May 27, 2026. Headline rebate figures were confirmed through search-indexed RG&E pages and cross-checked against published NYSEG and Central Hudson Clean Heat tiers, which share the same maximums. Smart Savings Rewards figures came from the live enrollment portal.

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

Verified against www.rge.com, cleanheat.ny.gov, thermostatrewards.com on May 27, 2026.