Office of Energy requests $24.5 million federal boost for home energy rebates and seeks $311,000 to create a 'Speed Council' to streamline permitting

Kellen McGurkin (Legislative Services Office) and Richard Stover, administrator of the Governor’s Office of Energy and Mineral Resources (OEMR), briefed the committee on the office’s budget, federal grant activity and two major FY2026 requests: a federal appropriation to operate the Home Energy Rebates program and a governor’s initiative to create a permitting 'Speed Council.'

McGurkin summarized OEMR’s expanding role administering federal grants. He noted a FY2022 one‑time transfer of $15,000,000 from the general fund to cover the state match for the grid-resiliency grant program (sometimes called POREG), and that federal appropriations to the office have grown in FY2024 and FY2025 as the office accepted rounds of competitive federal grants. McGurkin also described the Renewable Energy Resources Fund and said Senate Bill 1020 would authorize depositing federal hydropower lease/royalty receipts into that dedicated fund.

On the Home Energy Rebates program (funded under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022), OEMR requested an ongoing federal appropriation of $24,500,000 for FY2026. McGurkin and Stover explained the request breakdown: $20,000,000 for trustee and benefit rebate payments to households, up to $4,000,000 allowed for administrative costs (federal guidance allows up to 20% of funds for administration) and $502,000 for personnel costs to hire four limited‑service FTPs to run the program through its lifecycle. McGurkin said the total federal allocation to Idaho under the federal program is about $80,800,000 to be used before the federal deadline.

Senators and representatives probed the administrative share (4,000,000 appears to be about 20% of the requested appropriation) and whether that is unusually high; McGurkin and Stover said federal rules allow a 20% administrative cap and that OEMR expects to competitively procure a third‑party implementer for software, eligibility verification and distribution of rebates. Stover said some of the requested administrative appropriation may not be drawn in full and that the office expects to prioritize rebate payments.

Stover also outlined the governor’s Speed Council proposal (listed in the governor’s recommendation): $311,000 ongoing from the general fund if funded by the Legislature, including $164,000 for personnel (including a proposed new management assistant to coordinate council activity) and $75,000 to cover 40% of the OEMR administrator’s salary for council-related work. One‑time funding of $170,000 would support initial dashboard and project‑tracking development. Stover described the council’s goals in his words: “The primary tenants of the council are number 1, transparency. Number 2, accountability and predictability. And number 3, recognition or identification and recommendations for permitting reformations.” He said the council would focus on streamlining and adding transparency to permitting for large-scale and critical infrastructure projects and would include multiple state agencies.

On regional energy needs and longer-term supply planning, Stover told the committee Idaho is expected to require 30–50% more generation over the next 10–20 years and cited Northwest studies that anticipate adding thousands of megawatts across the region. He discussed the potential role of advanced nuclear energy and said Idaho National Laboratory is a national asset for nuclear research; on spent fuel he noted federal responsibility but said INL and private research could increase recycling and reprocessing options.

Committee members asked about wind‑down contingencies, contract terms with third‑party implementers, limited‑service positions and whether the programs could be unwound quickly if federal funding is rescinded; Stover and McGurkin said contracts will be written to accommodate rescissions and that staff hires are proposed as limited‑service positions aligned to grant terms.

No formal committee action or vote occurred during the hearing; OEMR staff said they would provide follow‑up details as requested.