About Electrify Ithaca

No, residents are not legally required to make any changes to their property; the electrification program is entirely voluntary.

There is no cost to connect with the partners in this program. However, the cost to make electrification upgrades to your home is determined by many factors including household income, property needs, and desired installations. It is possible to see utility savings after electrification of a property, however, this is not always the case.

There are several financial instruments to help pay for the electrification of your property. BlocPower and Cornell Cooperative Extension - Tompkins County can provide detailed guidance on what is available depending on your household income and whether you own or rent your property.

BlocPower offers 15 year no-money-down capital and operating leases. Monthly payments are low, predictable, and can make affording the upfront costs of an energy efficiency retrofit more accessible. BlocPower’s lease product is secured by the equipment itself so unlike other energy efficiency financing offerings, they will not put a lien on a customer's property.

If you commit to an equipment lease with BlocPower, they will provide 2 maintenance visits a year to keep equipment up and running as well as remote monitoring to catch issues before they become problems. BlocPower will also respond to emergency scenarios if they arise. If a property owner/manager chooses to purchase instead of lease equipment, they can opt-in to an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) agreement or BlocPower can train existing staff for a fee.

BlocPower’s financial partners invest debt and equity into our energy efficiency building electrification projects. These investments are repaid through the monthly lease payments of BlocPower customers. BlocPower projects improve the energy efficiency of customer’s buildings, potentially creating energy savings, increasing the net operating income of buildings and in turn generating a modest return for BlocPower investors.

BlocPower has locked down $50MM of committed debt funding to Electrify Ithaca through a Green Loan offering with Goldman Sachs and a Fortune 50 tech company. We are also working on securing loan guarantees and loan loss reserves to mitigate our financial partners' risk. BlocPower will take any project default first losses before our financial partners to ensure capital is available for the Ithaca program.

BlocPower is a public benefit corporation, meaning that its focus isn’t just on meeting fiduciary goals — this will not change if BlocPower goes public. Further, it would have no bearing whatsoever on the leases with building owners.

BlocPower is the Program Manager for Electrify Ithaca and coordinates process and communication of the coalition. BlocPower is also responsible for the installation, maintenance, and financing of all residential buildings and some commercial buildings. Alturus is managing the installation, maintenance, and financing of projects for large commercial and mixed-use buildings. Taitem Engineering & Tetra Tech are Ithaca-based engineering firms included in the customer response team. They work on design standards and technical work to define the solutions. They specialize in design for houses of worship and large multifamily residential buildings. Energetic Insurance partners with BlocPower for loans that originate from the United States’ Department of Energy’s Loan Program Office. Energetic helps us reduce the cost of capital, which saves money for our municipal partners. They provide an insurance policy that ensures our lenders will get paid back even if someone defaults, which lowers the risk of the loan. A lower risk means lower costs. NYSERDA is able to provide incentives to individual building owners for electrification. Contractors are local installation teams that are responsible for completing on-the-ground installation of appliances and systems.

BlocPower will act as the primary point of contact for building owners in the program. As a program manager, BlocPower’s role will include initial outreach and communications, development of initial analysis and scope of work, and coordination with local contractors. Should a commercial building fall into Alturus's scope of work, BlocPower will pass on building and owner information to contacts at Alturus.

BlocPower is partnering with local contractors, engineers, and other partners to complete installations and retrofit projects. BlocPower selects contractors through a competitive process to ensure fair pricing and quality work. Contractor information will be shared with building owners for review before any work is completed.

Residents are not required to participate in the program managed by BlocPower, however, there are many benefits to participating rather than going through a bank. BlocPower is able to provide no money down leases so you’re able to make affordable payments on equipment over time.

Yes, BlocPower has local positions in Ithaca. Additionally, BlocPower will be partnering with local contractors and workforce development programs to support the electrification program, and forming a Community Advisory Board of community members to advise on outreach for the program.