VEIC to implement Power Ahead incentives, energy advising and $6M innovation grants; launch targeted for Q2
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Summary
Power Ahead staff and contractors (VEIC, Brindle Group, Group14) described a roughly $59.6M incentives/advising portfolio, a tiered advising model, midstream/downstream/contractor incentive approaches, and a separate $6M innovation grant program expected to fund pilot projects.
Power Ahead Colorado staff and implementing partners outlined plans to roll out incentives, energy advising and an innovation grant program designed to accelerate heat‑pump adoption and complementary market systems.
Mac Prather introduced the session and handed the floor to Luke Charbonneau, who said, "this is our, 59.6, million dollar program area," describing incentives intended to reduce the cost gap between gas equipment and efficient heat pump technologies and advising services to help customers and contractors navigate available programs. VEIC (Vermont Energy Investment Corporation) will implement the incentives and advising; Brindle Group and Group 14 provide local engagement and engineering support.
Luke explained three incentive delivery approaches: downstream incentives paid to homeowners or assignable to contractors (to improve visibility and target specific building types), contractor incentives to defray soft costs and verify high‑quality installations, and midstream incentives paid to distributors to ensure efficient electric equipment is stocked and appropriately priced. He described a four‑tier advising model from self‑service resources (Tier 0) to on‑site engineering support for complex multifamily and commercial projects (Tier 3) and said VEIC has already hired two local energy advisers.
On timing, staff aim to have program infrastructure ready by March 31 and to begin processing incentives in Q2, with a staggered rollout of incentive types. The innovation program is a separate VEIC‑administered pool of $6 million, expected to produce roughly two dozen awards (averaging about $200,000) across tracks for reducing market friction, technical/grid optimization, and community‑led design and health outcomes.
Committee members asked about midstream definitions, links to COSSA (Colorado Solar and Storage Association), interactions with the Colorado Clean Energy Fund and on‑bill repayment discussions, and how incentives stack with federal and utility incentives. Staff said they were engaged with Collective Clean Energy Fund stakeholder processes and would coordinate to steer customers to the largest available incentives where possible; they also noted utility programs and IRA‑related federal incentives can materially change out‑of‑pocket costs for income‑qualified customers.
Next steps: finalize incentive types and policy guardrails, continue 1:1 stakeholder engagement, bring a program management policy to the technical committee and board, and publish public launch materials.
