Boston launches $150M heat pump, weatherization program

Boston will partner with utilities Eversource Energy and National Grid PLC on a $150 million initiative to boost heat pump adoption and weatherize buildings.

"If you need new windows or an updated heating system, we'll find every dollar available to get the job done," Mayor Michelle Wu said March 19 in her State of the City speech.

The Boston Energy Saver program will help residents access financial incentives from the statewide Mass Save energy efficiency program, the city said in a news release. It will focus on buildings heated by electric resistance and oil.

The city signed a memorandum of understanding with the two local utilities March 17 that called for installing at least 5,000 heat pumps and weatherize 10,000 buildings over the next three years. Massachusetts aims to increase the number of households using heat pumps as their primary heating source by 500,000 between 2020 and 2030.

"This is exactly what a strong public-private partnership looks like — leveraging Boston's leadership and community networks to maximize state and utility incentives for the people who need them most," Boston Green New Deal director and environment commissioner Oliver Sellers-Garcia said.

The city expects the program to provide $300 million in benefits for Boston residents through 2027.

Athough Boston Energy Saver will be open to all buildings, it will focus on residential buildings with fewer than 15 units and commercial and nonprofit spaces under 20,000 square feet. "Buildings of this size have historically faced barriers to accessing energy efficiency programs and incentives," the city said.

Emissions from buildings account for 70% of Boston's overall greenhouse gas emissions.

"As a city with a majority renter population and many aging buildings, Boston residents in our environmental justice neighborhoods have historically not reaped the benefits" of programs such as Mass Save, Sierra Club Massachusetts senior organizer Michele Brooks said in a March 19 statement. "At a time when energy costs are at an all-time high, we need to do everything we can to increase affordability."

The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities recently ordered utilities participating in Mass Save to trim $500 million in ratepayers' funds from its budget as part of a strategy to lower costs.

The state's power prices rose 50.5% between 2018 and 2023, the third-highest increase in the nation during that time, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.