The Biden administration will provide $13 billion to assist low and moderate-income American households in offsetting the costs of energy bills. The aid will include grants to pay electric bills and incentivize upgrading their homes to be more energy-efficient.
A senior administration official told reporters on a call that Vice President Kamala Harris will announce the plan on Wednesday while visiting a Boston training facility and union hall for sheet metal workers, per CNBC. The pending announcement aligns with the administration's goals to address climbing energy costs and temperature changes due to climate change.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"We know that winter heating bills account for the largest share of low-income households' home energy needs. So it is imperative that the funds reach households as efficiently and effectively as possible," the official said.
The remaining funds, approximately $9 billion allocated per the Inflation Reduction Act, will be provided by the administration for qualifying households to make energy-efficient home upgrades to lower energy costs. This funding will help upwards of 1.6 million households. In a statement, the White House says the plan will "complement tax credits that families and building owners can use under the Inflation Reduction Act to install energy-saving equipment and to make building upgrades."
-
Cloudbursts: what are the 'rain bombs' hitting India and Pakistan?The Explainer The sudden and intense weather event is almost impossible to forecast and often leads to deadly flash-flooding and landslides
-
What do heatwaves mean for Scandinavia?Under the Radar A record-breaking run of sweltering days and tropical nights is changing the way people – and animals – live in typically cool Nordic countries
-
Blue whales have gone silent and it's posing troubling questionsUnder the radar Warming oceans are the answer
-
Acid rain is back: the sequel nobody wantedUnder The Radar A 'forever chemical' in rainwater is reviving a largely forgotten environmental issue
-
Why is the world so divided over plastics?Today's Big Question UN negotiations on first global plastic treaty are at stake, as fossil fuel companies, petrostates and plastic industry work to resist a legal cap on production
-
Tuvalu is being lost to climate change. Other countries will likely follow.Under the Radar Sea level rise is putting islands underwater
-
Massive earthquake sends tsunami across PacificSpeed Read Hundreds of thousands of people in Japan and Hawaii were told to evacuate to higher ground
-
FEMA Urban Search and Rescue chief resignsSpeed Read Ken Pagurek has left the organization, citing 'chaos'
