Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection

DEEP headquarters at 79 Elm Street in Hartford has partially re-opened to staff and members of the public as of Tuesday, February 3. The DEEP records room has re-opened. The DEEP Central Permit Processing Unit (CPPU) will be open to the public starting on Wednesday, Feb. 4. For updates, click here

Please visit the Official Coalition New England Accelerator website at: www.nehpa.org 

Introducing the New England Heat Pump Accelerator

The New England Heat Pump Accelerator (Accelerator) is a multi-state effort to accelerate the adoption of cold-climate air-source heat pumps (ASHP), ground-source heat pumps (GSHP), and heat pump water heaters (HPWH) across New England. The Accelerator coalition was awarded a $450 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Program in July 2024. Connecticut DEEP finalized the 5-year grant agreement with EPA in October 2024.

The coalition is led by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources, Maine Governor’s Office for Policy Innovation and the Future, and New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. 

The coalition will leverage the power of a multi-state market to rapidly increase the adoption of heat pumps and heat pump water heaters in single-family and multifamily residential buildings across the region. The coalition will also tackle barriers to affordable heat pump adoption and promote development of heat pump skill sets in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), plumbing, and electrical workforce.

The coalition will partner with heat pump manufacturers, distributors, and installers to increase the availability of air-source and ground-source heat pumps while lowering equipment and installation costs for consumers. This partnership will include significant investment in workforce training, ensuring installers across the five states will have access to good-paying careers while delivering more efficient heating and cooling solutions for our residents. A portion of the funding will support innovative strategies to ensure heat pump installations that work for all building types, such as mobile homes, multifamily buildings, and buildings with radiator (hydronic) heating systems common throughout the region. Through the unprecedented multi-state collaboration supported by this grant, the states will share information and best practices learned through this initiative to improve heat pump programs and building policies for decades to come.

Current Updates

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) - Program Evaluator, Release Date: February 3, 2026 
The deadline to submit responses to the RFP is March 13, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. ET

DEEP releases a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a third-party Evaluator for the New England Heat Pump Accelerator (“Accelerator”). The Evaluator will assess the success and impact of the Accelerator programs. To qualify for a contract award, a Proposer or team of organizations must have the following minimum qualifications: Any individual, entity, or public or private firm located anywhere in the United States and registered to do business in the state of Connecticut. Proposers must have experience evaluating energy programs.  

Interested parties can access the Evaluator RFP at this link.

A bidders' conference will be held on February 17, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET.  Register for the bidders' conference at this link.

The Bidder's conference agenda will include: 

  • Brief overview of the New England Heat Pump Accelerator and the Evaluator RFP
  • Overview of proposal requirements, timeline, and submission process 
  • Live Q & A

Written questions will be accepted through February 18, 2026. Questions should be submitted, in accordance with the guidance outlined in the RFP, to DEEP.EnergyBureau@ct.gov.

Please submit proposals via email by March 13, 2026, by 5:00 p.m. to Deep.EnergyBureau@ct.gov and include “Accelerator Evaluator RFP” in the subject line of the email.

KICK-OFF WEBINAR

On November 19, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. ET, DEEP held a Kick-Off webinar for the New England Heat Pump Accelerator (Accelerator). The $450 million program will support workforce development, incentives and grants for heat pumps in coalition states. View the recording on the New England Heat Pump Accelerator website: www.nehpa.org/about

COALITION NEWS 

The Coalition Accelerator website has launched at www.nehpa.org

 

RESOURCES

 View GHG Savings Technical Appendix

News from 2025

Request for Information (RFI) on State Pilot Program

Through its RFI dated November 5, 2025, DEEP is requesting comments on a potential design for a state heat pump pilot (Pilot) funded under the New England Heat Pump Accelerator (Accelerator). This Pilot is intended to propel the adoption of cold climate air-source heat pumps (ASHPs), heat pump water heaters (HPWHs), and/or other efficient, electric heat pump technologies in single-family and/or multi-family residential buildings.

Interested parties can access the Pilot Request for Information here. 

DEEP held a virtual public meeting on November 13, 2025,to solicit feedback on the proposed pilot approach described in this RFI.

Recorded meeting link | Meeting presentation slides link | Agenda link 

The deadline to submit responses to this RFI was December 5, 2025.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) (Released February 28, 2025) 

DEEP released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Regional Implementer for the New England Heat Pump Accelerator.

On March 21, 2025, DEEP posted Responses to Written Questions. In response to questions, DEEP extended the deadline for proposals toApril 10, 2025.

Interested parties can access the Implementer RFP here. This RFP has been updated in response to questions. 

A bidders' conference was held on March 10, 2025. View the recording.

Written questions were accepted through March 11, 2025.

Content last updated February 2026