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Ohio: the utilities stopped paying rebates in 2020, and the gas companies followed.
Ohio’s House Bill 6 ended every electric utility efficiency plan on 31 December 2020. Columbia Gas ended its rebates for everyone but low-income customers in 2023, and the state Supreme Court upheld that in June 2026. The federal rebates have not launched. What Ohio has left is free weatherization below 200% of the poverty line, rebates from rural co-ops and 16 city utilities, and a property tax exemption for home solar. Here is all of it, read off each administrator’s own pages.
Updated . The state programs, AEP Ohio, FirstEnergy, Duke Energy Ohio, AES Ohio, the gas utilities, Efficiency Smart and two co-ops, with the other co-ops and local programs in tables; see “Not covered yet” for the rest.
The short version
No big utility pays a rebate to ordinary customers
AEP Ohio, FirstEnergy, Duke Energy Ohio and AES Ohio pay no equipment rebates; the law ended their plans on 31 December 2020. Columbia Gas ended its non-low-income programs on 1 January 2023, Enbridge Gas Ohio offers only low-income weatherization, and CenterPoint’s Ohio rebate pages are gone. Rebate sites that quote $500 heat pump rebates from AEP or Duke are wrong. What AEP does offer.
source · verified 27 September 2026
Below 200% of the poverty line, the work is free
The state weatherization program, Columbia’s WarmChoice, FirstEnergy’s Community Connections and Duke’s weatherization all use the same line, $66,000 for four, and install insulation, air sealing and heating repairs at no cost. HEAP’s Winter Crisis Program adds up to $1,500 for a broken furnace from 1 November.
source · verified 27 September 2026
Co-ops and 16 city utilities still pay
Rural co-ops such as Butler Rural and Union Rural pay $400 to $600 toward a heat pump and $800 to $1,200 for geothermal. Efficiency Smart pays up to $750 for a cold-climate heat pump in 16 city-utility towns.
source · verified 27 September 2026
Statewide
Weatherization, crisis help, the federal rebates and the solar exemption.
Weatherization Assistance
free
Insulation, air sealing and heating repairs at or below 200% of the poverty line; now run by Job and Family Services.
Income limits →
HEAP Winter Crisis
up to $1,500
For a homeowner’s broken heating unit, plus bill help, 1 November 2026 to 31 March 2027.
Who qualifies →
HOMES and HEAR
not launched
$249 million, awaiting federal approval since November 2024.
Where it stands →
Solar and battery tax exemption
no property tax
On home systems up to 250 kW installed since 2010; batteries since August 2025.
The rules →
Your electric utility
Since 2020, what the big electric utilities offer comes from rate settlements, and it is almost all for low-income customers.
| Utility | For everyone | For lower incomes | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| AEP Ohio | $75 for a smart thermostat, for joining Power Rewards | HELP, up to 300% of poverty | HELP paused for 2026 |
| Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company, Toledo Edison | Nothing | Free weatherization to 200%; free thermostat to 300% | Open |
| Duke Energy Ohio | Nothing | Free weatherization to 200%, through People Working Cooperatively | Open |
| AES Ohio (Dayton) | Nothing | The statewide programs only | Ended 31 December 2020 |
Customers of all four on or eligible for PIPP Plus with high electricity use also get the free Electric Partnership Program.
source · verified 27 September 2026
AEP Ohio
$75 thermostat
Power Rewards for everyone; the low-income HELP program reopens for 2027.
What it offers →
FirstEnergy Ohio
free
Weatherization to 200% of the poverty line and a free thermostat to 300%.
Who qualifies →
Duke Energy Ohio
free
Weatherization through People Working Cooperatively, for Duke gas or electric customers.
Who qualifies →
AES Ohio promised weatherization and delivered none
AES Ohio’s electric security plan page lists “new and enhanced customer programs such as weatherization assistance”. Its only efficiency page says its programs ended on 31 December 2020, and no weatherization program exists.
source · verified 27 September 2026
Gas
No law ever required Ohio’s gas utilities to run efficiency programs, and in 2026 none pays a rebate to ordinary customers.
| Gas utility | Rebates for everyone | For lower incomes |
|---|---|---|
| Columbia Gas of Ohio | None since 1 January 2023 | WarmChoice: free insulation, air sealing, furnace and water heater work to 200% |
| Enbridge Gas Ohio (formerly Dominion) | None | Housewarming: free weather-stripping and attic and wall insulation through CHN Housing Partners; no income line or area published |
| National Fuel Gas Distribution of Ohio, formerly CenterPoint Energy Ohio (Dayton area) | No current program found | National Fuel completed the purchase on 1 October 2026 and has announced no rebates |
| Duke Energy Ohio gas | None | Free weatherization to 200% through People Working Cooperatively |
DSIRE still lists CenterPoint Ohio rebates of up to $400 for a furnace and $700 for wall insulation, linking a site that no longer exists.
source · verified 27 September 2026
Electric co-ops
Ohio’s rural co-ops kept paying rebates after 2020, mostly as bill credits, often with a load-control switch attached.
| Co-op | Air-source heat pump | Geothermal | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butler Rural | $600 | $1,200 new, $800 replacement | Heat pump water heater $650; not for members with rooftop solar |
| Union Rural | $600 dual fuel or ductless | $800 | Insulation 50% to $800 in electrically heated homes; paid by check |
| Consolidated | $600 dual fuel or ductless | $800 | Heat pump water heater $400; one item per rebate per home |
| Pioneer | $500 | $1,000 | Rate discount only with automatic fossil fuel backup |
| Mid-Ohio Energy | $400 | $800 | Insulation to $800, air sealing to $400; July-to-June year |
| North Central, Lorain-Medina | $600 ENERGY STAR; $400 otherwise | $800 | Insulation to $800, air sealing to $400 |
| The Energy Cooperative | $600 ENERGY STAR; $400 otherwise | $800 | Electric members only; two rebates a year |
| Midwest Electric | $600; ductless $300 | $800 | Insulation $400 |
| Darke Rural | $600 add-on | $800 | Its geothermal form is headed for a program year that ended 30 June 2026 |
| North Western | $400 to $600 | $800 | Water heaters only in new construction since July 2023 |
| Carroll | $400 | $800 | Energy audit for $150 |
| Tricounty | $300 dual fuel | $800 | Water heater up to $350 |
| Washington, Guernsey-Muskingum | — | $600; $300 | Water heater rebates |
| Paulding Putnam, Hancock-Wood, Frontier | — | — | Water heater, air conditioner or audit rebates; Paulding Putnam’s page gives two insulation caps |
| South Central Power, Buckeye Rural, Holmes-Wayne, Logan County | None found | None found | South Central’s last programs closed to enrollment on 31 October 2023 |
Figures from each co-op’s own page, read 27 September 2026. There is no statewide co-op program; Butler Rural and Tricounty still point members to federal tax credits that ended with 2025.
source · verified 27 September 2026
City utilities and local programs
Sixteen city electric systems share Efficiency Smart; the big city utilities offer no efficiency rebates.
| Program | What it offers | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Efficiency Smart (16 AMP towns) | Cold-climate heat pump $350 or $750, heat pump water heater $300, thermostat $100 | Open |
| Cleveland Public Power, Columbus Division of Power | No home efficiency rebates found | — |
| Columbus Critical Home Repair | Roofs, furnaces, water heaters for owner-occupants up to 80% of area median income | Not accepting applications |
| MORPC (Franklin County) | Free weatherization, furnace and water heater work, owners and renters, income-qualified | Open |
| Cleveland home repair (Repair-A-Home, senior assistance) | Low- or no-interest repair loans, grants for seniors | Intake being reevaluated; new process promised in 2026 |
| Cuyahoga County HELP and Heritage Home loans | Home repair loans three points below bank rates, no income limit; older homes | Open, through Huntington Bank |
| Residential PACE (Columbus region) | Property-assessed financing where the city has joined the district | Some cities; Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority |
| ECO-Link (Ohio Treasurer) | A linked-deposit interest rate cut on home improvement loans | No live page; $250,000 in the program in May 2025 |
source · verified 27 September 2026
Which income line applies
Ohio uses the federal poverty line throughout. Figures are for a household of four.
| Program | Income test | Family of four | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| HEAP, PIPP Plus, Winter Crisis, Electric Partnership | 175% of poverty | $57,750 | Winter Crisis from 1 November 2026 |
| Weatherization Assistance, WarmChoice, Community Connections, Duke weatherization | 200% of poverty | $66,000 | Open |
| AEP Ohio HELP; FirstEnergy’s free thermostat | 300% of poverty | $99,000 | HELP paused; thermostat open |
| HOMES and HEAR | HEAR under 150% of area median income | By county | Not launched |
source · verified 27 September 2026
What closed, and what you will still be told to apply for
- Federal Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit (25C) — ended for improvements after 31 December 2025. What it paid.
- Federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (25D) — ended for solar, batteries and geothermal placed in service after 31 December 2025. What it paid.
- Every electric utility efficiency program — ended 31 December 2020 under House Bill 6; no new applications for rebates after 30 September 2020.
- Columbia Gas of Ohio’s rebates — ended 1 January 2023 for everyone but WarmChoice customers. What is left.
- FirstEnergy Ohio’s appliance rebates — ran until May 2024.
- AEP Ohio HELP — applications paused for 2026. When it reopens.
- CenterPoint Energy Ohio’s rebates — its Ohio rebate pages no longer exist, though DSIRE still lists them, and since 1 October 2026 the utility belongs to National Fuel.
- South Central Power’s water heater and air conditioning programs — enrollment ended 31 October 2023.
Not covered yet
The state programs, the four electric utilities, the gas utilities, Efficiency Smart and two co-ops are here, with the other co-ops and local programs in tables. Still missing:
- Adams and Firelands co-ops, whose rebate pages could not be read.
- City utilities outside Efficiency Smart, such as Hamilton, Westerville, Piqua and Bryan, checked only by search.
- Toledo’s and Cincinnati’s repair and loan programs in detail.
- AEP HELP’s per-measure limits, and Enbridge Housewarming’s income line, neither published by the utility.
Questions people in Ohio actually ask
Are there heat pump rebates in Ohio in 2026?
Not from the big utilities. Ohio’s House Bill 6 ended every electric utility efficiency plan on 31 December 2020, and AEP Ohio, FirstEnergy, Duke Energy Ohio and AES Ohio pay no heat pump rebates to ordinary customers. Rural electric co-ops still do, typically $400 to $600 for an air-source heat pump and $800 to $1,200 for geothermal, and 16 city utilities in Efficiency Smart pay up to $750 for a cold-climate heat pump. The federal HEAR rebates have not launched.
Does Columbia Gas of Ohio still give furnace rebates?
No. Columbia Gas ended its efficiency programs for customers who are not income-qualified on 1 January 2023, under a rate case settlement the Ohio Supreme Court upheld on 25 June 2026. What is left is WarmChoice: free insulation, air sealing and furnace or water heater repair or replacement for customers at or below 200% of the poverty line ($66,000 for four). Enbridge Gas Ohio likewise offers only its Housewarming weatherization program.
Has Ohio launched the HOMES and HEAR rebates?
No. The Ohio Department of Development says it is awaiting federal approval of an application submitted on 12 November 2024. Its page still expects a launch in the fourth quarter of 2024 or the first quarter of 2025. Pages that list the HEAR rebates as available now in Ohio are wrong.
What free home energy help is there for low-income households in Ohio?
The Home Weatherization Assistance Program does insulation, air sealing and heating repairs free at or below 200% of the poverty line ($66,000 for four). Columbia Gas’s WarmChoice, FirstEnergy’s Community Connections and Duke Energy Ohio’s weatherization use the same line. HEAP’s Winter Crisis Program pays up to $1,500 to repair or replace a homeowner’s heating unit from 1 November 2026. AEP Ohio’s HELP program, up to 300%, is paused for 2026.
Is there a solar incentive in Ohio?
Yes, a property tax one. Solar panels on an Ohio home, and since 14 August 2025 batteries, are exempt from real property tax if the system is 250 kW or smaller and was installed on or after 1 January 2010. There is no state rebate, and the federal tax credit ended for systems installed after 31 December 2025.