Office of Energy and Mineral Resources seeks federal funding for home energy rebates, proposes Speed Council to streamline permitting

The Governor’s Office of Energy and Mineral Resources (OEMR) told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee it seeks an ongoing federal appropriation of $24.5 million to run a Home Energy Rebates program created under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

OEMR administrator Richard Stover and Legislative Services analyst Kellen McGurkin told committee members the $24.5 million request would be funded with federal dollars and would not require a state match. OEMR presented a top‑level breakdown: $20 million in trustee-and-benefit payments to fund rebates to households, $4 million for administrative and implementation costs (including procurement of a third‑party implementer and associated software), and roughly $502,000 for personnel costs to hire four limited‑service FTPs to manage the program through its duration.

Committee members asked why administration and implementation totaled about 16–20% of the request; staff replied that federal rules allow up to 20% for administrative costs and that OEMR expects to competitively procure a third‑party implementer to operate the application and eligibility platform. Legislators also asked whether limited‑term positions would persist after federal funds end; OEMR said the four positions would be limited service and removed when the program concludes.

Separately, OEMR described its stewardship of federal grid‑resilience grants (referred to in testimony as an energy resiliency grant program and earlier one-time state match transfers of $15 million in FY2022). The office said it has directed rounds of competitive awards to utilities and local entities to strengthen grid reliability and wildfire resilience.

Finally, OEMR described a proposed multiagency Speed Council — an element of a governor initiative presented to the committee — intended to streamline permitting and improve transparency for large-scale investments and critical infrastructure. The governor’s request included $311,000 ongoing from the General Fund (including funding for a management assistant and partial funding of the OEMR administrator’s salary as council work shifts to general‑fund eligible activities) and $170,000 one‑time for dashboard and startup costs. Stover said the council would develop a public project dashboard, coordinate across agencies, and identify permitting reforms to speed project delivery without foregoing public engagement.

Stover also discussed long-term energy needs, saying Idaho’s energy demand could grow 30–50% over the next 10–20 years and noting regional needs in the Western interconnection. He described OEMR work on advanced nuclear energy strategy and coordination with Idaho National Laboratory and industry stakeholders. No final committee votes on the appropriation requests were recorded in the hearing transcript; the funding proposals are pending appropriation and any required federal approvals.