Shutting down the Inflation Reduction Act smells like lobbying from the fracking industry. Everyone but natural gas merchants benefits. Taxpayers lower their energy bills. The Federal government becomes more energy secure. Electric utilities see their profit margins increase as the delta between Summer and Winter seasonal loads normalizes, allowing for enhanced optimization of real estate holdings related to having spare capacity on hand to cover load spikes (the extra capacity is a source of constant expense, but only occasionally runs & generates revenue).

Even if the electricity used to run the heat pump comes from a gas burning generator, it will still use less gas compared to burning it in a furnace in someone’s home. Heat pumps don’t create heat, they just move it to and from the outdoors, so they’re able to reach efficiencies over 500%. They’re still over 100% efficiency even after accounting for the -40% hit taken at the electrical utility’s gas generator and the -5% hit taken over the electrical transmission lines. Comparatively, the best furnaces are only 95% efficient.

Interested homeowners can visit webpages for the rebate programs for California, New Mexico, Maine, the District of Columbia, and New York. Some parts of the program have income limits — families making less than 80 percent of the median income in their area are eligible for a full rebate, and those making between 80 percent and 150 percent are eligible for a reduced rebate.