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Spokane County to accept $630,000 Commerce award for home‑electrification rebates; SNAP to be primary subrecipient
Summary
County staff told commissioners they applied for and received $630,000 from the state Department of Commerce to run a home-electrification appliance rebate program (HEER), with a 15% admin cap and SNAP named as the likely subrecipient for outreach and installations; staff will return with contract details.
Spokane County staff reported the county received a $630,000 award from the Washington State Department of Commerce to run a home electrification appliance rebate program (HEER) aimed at low‑ and moderate‑income households, renters, nonprofits and small businesses.
The presenter said the award includes a 15% administrative cap (about $94,500). Spokane County will retain a small portion of the admin funds, while the majority is expected to go to SNAP as the county’s proposed subrecipient to perform outreach, intake, and installation coordination.
Staff told commissioners the county previously ran a round of the program that served roughly 108 households, three multifamily projects and two businesses. The new award is smaller in scale than the prior round but is expected to follow a similar structure with SNAP handling most of the customer-facing work.
"We got a $630,000 award," the presenter said, adding that staff will negotiate the performance period and contract language with Commerce and SNAP and return to the board with an authorizing resolution once negotiations and tribal consultation letters are complete.
Commissioners asked whether the program will prioritize fuel‑switch upgrades (from gas to electric) versus upgrades of existing electric appliances. Staff said priority will generally be given to fuel‑switch transitions this round, but that SNAP’s intake rules and eligibility will determine exact prioritization and that some electric‑to‑electric upgrades may still be eligible.
No formal vote occurred in the briefing; staff requested permission to proceed with contract negotiations and to place the final acceptance and DocuSign authorization on a future agenda.
