• Statewide: 
  • WEATHERIZATION AND MORE. Limited income homeowners and renters may get free weatherization from Housing NM’s  New Mexico Energy $mart Weatherization Program Home.  Qualify if someone in your household receives Disability Income, Supplemental Security Income and/or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. Services offered include insulation, duct repair and sealing, heating/cooling repair or replacement and other actions. There are programs for Veterans too.
  • Housing NM’s HOME Rehabilitation Program  provides heating and cooling energy-saving measures, repair or replacement of furnaces, ducting, water heaters, roof and mobile home replacement, code upgrades and utility connections. Click on the link to see qualification criteria.
  • Housing Improvement Program (HIP) is a home improvement and replacement program for tribal members.
  • REBATES. New Mexico state HEAR rebates are HERE!  See if you qualify for DIY insulation and coupons/discounts for heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, electrical upgrades, induction cooling and heat pump clothes dryers. Renters do qualify (but the portal will not be open until July 2026 or after).
  •  By the end of 2026 the “HER” no-cost house upgrade program may also be out.
  • RENTALS. See if you qualify for Yes Housing rentals throughout the state.
  • DISCOUNTED SOLAR ELECTRICITY. Community Solar is live for utility customers! Sign up for discounts on clean solar electricity if you are a renter, low-income or don’t have a suitable roof.
  • Solar For All  program would have provided income-limited residents with avenues to receive clean solar energy.  But its fate is up in the air under the Trump administration.
• Northern New Mexico:
  • Taos County Community Energy Efficiency Development (CEED) grant fund. Free comprehensive energy audit with efficiency upgrades like LED lighting, weatherstripping, water heater blankets, pipe wrap, gap filler, and Energy Star refrigerator replacement if applicable. Recommendations for next steps and access to incentives.
  • For Los Alamos County residents: The Home Renewal Program helps income-qualified homeowners improve the safety, comfort, and livability of their homes—without increasing monthly costs.
  • Santa Fe County HREE Program (if you live outside of the city limits of Santa Fe, Edgewood and Espanola)
  • The Red Feather Weatherization program provides free, energy saving weatherization services to low-moderate income families living on the Hopi and Navajo Reservations who are Arizona Public Service customers.
  • Santa Fe, Nambe Pueblo, and Ojo Encino Chapter House of the Navajo Nation were awarded  Community Energy Efficiency Development (CEED) grants. Look for a programs there soon.
  • Santa Fe Habitat If your home requires repairs and you would like to be considered, please get in touch with Fritz Denny, Home Repair Program Manager: repairs@santefehabitat.org or (505) 986-5880 Ext. 103.
  • Habitat for Humanity of Española Valley and Los Alamos may offer home repair depending on funding and manpower in addition to new home builds.
• Central New Mexico
  • The Rio Grande Food Project Community Hub  will help you enroll in critical public benefits including the Low-Income Home Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the PNM Good Neighbor Fund for support for past-due electricity bills for residents statewide as well as a host of other food and social services.
  • Albuquerque metro area, Town of Bernalillo.  Prosperity Works provides free energy-efficient retrofits with its partners. 
  • Greater Albuquerque Habitat for Humanity’s Critical Systems Replacement program helps homeowners address issues with furnaces, water heaters, coolers. For low-income seniors, veterans and those with disabilities. (505) 359-2436 or email toye@habitatabqrr.org
• Southern New Mexico
  • If you live in Las Cruces, you may qualify for the Plugged-In-For-Good Program for an energy audit,  retrofit and heat pump if you own your house.  Contact: pluggedinforgood@gmail.com | (575) 528-3403.
  • Community Action Agency of Southern New Mexico offers portable cooling & and heating units when funding is available in Doña Ana, Hidalgo, Luna, Sierra and Grant counties.
  • Socorro was awarded a  Community Energy Efficiency Development (CEED) grant. Look for a program soon.
• Eastern New Mexico
  • Habitat for Humanity Roosevelt and Curry Counties may help current lower-income homeowners with critical home repairs that may be beyond their means. Zero interest loans for needed materials, repayment plans are based on actual ability to pay.

• What should you do if you do not qualify for a rebate, tax credit or income-qualified program? Or if you qualify for a free heat pump for example, but need funding for an electrical panel upgrade? There are several financing options for homeowners that you might want to consider.  FHA loans for energy upgrades and renewable energy retrofits are in every state.
• This article from the Zero Energy Project is a good overview of many loan/mortgage sources for solar and energy efficiency home improvements.
• This is an overview of Energy Efficient Mortgages (EEMs) or green mortgages that al existing or prospective homeowners to finance the cost of upgrades in new and existing homes. According to the Dept. of Energy, these mortgages take into account the lower utility bills that will come from the upgrades, and this may result in more favorable financing terms for the borrower. EEMs are sponsored by federally insured mortgage programs (FHA and VA) and the conventional secondary mortgage market. Lenders can offer conventional EEMs, FHA EEMs, or VA EEMs.
• Check with credit unions such as Nusenda or the Clean Energy Credit Union PV loans and other green loans.
• The PATCH Program will offer financial assistance in the form of no-interest forgivable loans to income-eligible homeowners in Albuquerque to make health, safety, and structural repairs to their home. It is expected to begin in 2026.
• Homewise Home Improvement Loans. Homewise offers affordable financing services to help you maintain and improve your home. Make repairs or add energy efficient features such as electrical panel upgrades, heating and cooling, hot water heaters, windows or solar. Ask if you qualify for the Albuquerque Home Preservation Grant Program or other similar programs that helped this family.
• Look for community solar and solar coop opportunities, such as the San Juan County Solar, Storage, and EV Charging Co-op to get reduced solar electricity rates.

• New Mexico’s Sustainable Building Tax Credit  offers residents refundable tax credits for ENERGY-STAR energy-saving installations, meaning even if you do not pay income taxes you qualify for the tax credits if your income falls below 200% of the federal poverty level. The credits themselves are also larger if your income qualifies or you live in affordable housing:  Heat pumps ($2,000), insulation (up to $2,000), windows/doors (up to $1,000),  heat pump water heater ($700) and EV Charger prep ($1,000).
  • 2025 federal poverty line values. For a household of 4, the Federal poverty line is $$32,150, so 4-person families with incomes below $64,300 would qualify for the low income SBTC tax credit of $2,000 for a heat pump, for example. Four-person households above $64,300 would qualify for a $1,000 credit.

• Veterans Home Rehabilitation and Modification Program provides energy-related home repairs or accessibility modifications to eligible disabled veterans who lack the resources to do so

• Veterans may also qualify for $6,000 in efficiency upgrades through a VA Energy Efficient Mortgage.

If you need help paying your utility bill

 Xcel

PNM  Good Neighbor Fund

El Paso Electric List of New Mexico Assistance Agencies and Bright Hearts Fund.

For Jemez Mountain Electric Cooperative Members

New Mexico Gas HEAT NM

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)    [Solicitud para LIHEAP (PDF para completar/imprimir)]

Navajo Nation Division for Children and Family services Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

Energy Assistance Rental Program  (Renters and Homeowners) This program is no longer accepting applications for rental assistance. However it has some links to county programs.

Community Response 2-1-1 National Support Hotline gives referrals to agencies and organizations. (or call 211)

Low Cost Banks

Find banks and credit unions in the Bank On network that offer safe, low-cost Bank On accounts. Table of some accounts. Questions? Email bankonnewmexico@prosperityworks.net or call 505-217-2747.

Can I afford an EV?

Warning: The GOP megabill killed the Federal EV tax credit. You only have until Sept. 30, 2025 to purchase or lease a new or used EV or plug-in Hybrid to qualify for the tax credit.

If you decide you cannot afford to purchase an EV, look at the section on this webpage called Can I still drive an EV if I can’t afford to buy one?

• Starting in 2024, you may transfer the maximum allowable federal EV credit (30% up to $4,000) to a participating dealer at the time of sale and receive that amount as a down payment or instant discount even if you owe no federal taxes.  The dealer must be registered with the IRS Energy Credits Online system. The dealer will enter the EV VIN and other information into the system to determine if the EV you want is eligible for the tax credit.  If so, make sure you get a confirmation of the IRS Seller Report  before you leave the dealership. You will have to file this with your taxes (even if you do not owe any federal taxes). If you do not transfer the credit to the dealer and wait to claim the credit in April, you may not receive the full allowable amount of the credit. Check with the dealer first to make sure they will take your tax credit transfer.
  • Example: You want to buy a used, 2022 Bolt for $24,000. The federal tax credit is 30% up to $4,000. $24,000 times 0.3= $7,200, but $4,000 is the maximum amount you can get. At the dealership if you transfer your tax credit you can use the $4,000 as a downpayment on a loan for $20,000 or buy the car outright for $20,000.
  • If you do not transfer the credit to the deal at the time of sale, you will only be allowed to take the credit of $4,000 if you owe that amount in federal taxes. If you only owe $1000, you will only be refunded $1,000.  If you owe not taxes you will not be able to claim the credit at all.
• With the NM Clean Car Income Tax Credit  from 2024-2026 you could get an additional $2,500 off the price of a used EV. The amount for new EVs is $3,000. New EVs have to cost less than $55,000, and used EVs must be under $25,000. At the moment dealers are not required to offer the tax credit at point of sale, but you can file your state tax return in April to receive the full tax credit even if you do not owe any state taxes . The tax credit amount steps down each year from  2027-2029.
• Combining the two tax credits means that a used $10,990 2015 Nissan Leaf (Caravan 2/14/24) would cost $5,193 and a $24,990 2016 Tesla S (Caravan 2/14/24) would cost $18,490.
• Using the Carvana car loan calculator, an average credit score and a 60 month loan, your monthly credit payments would be $116 for the Nissan Leaf.  However, we do not know that Carvana will participate in the EV tax credit program.
• To use federal tax credit, your modified adjusted gross income must be less than $150,000 for joint filers, $112,500 for head of household and $75,000 for single filers.

Beyond tax credits look for for extra savings on the Edmonds rebates site, COSTCO Auto Program and ENERGY STAR rebates page from manufacturers and banks. However to get the federal and state tax credits EVs must be purchased through a dealer.

For those living in PNM’s service area, the utility will offer a limited number of $4,000 EV rebates to income-qualify  customers with incomes less than 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. EVs must cost less than $55,000.  

El Paso Electric will have a similar plan for 50 income-limited residents.

For the best used cars, check out:

• Car and Driver: Best Used EVs to Take Advantage of the $4000 Federal Tax Credit  (June 2024)
• Recurrent Auto article: Check if a car is eligible for used tax credit.  (May 2024)
• Transport Evolved Video Want a well SUPPORTED Used EV? Buy these cars! (Oct 2023)

• • • Some EV companies offer home free charger with purchase.
    • Xcel low-income rebate is $2,500.
    • PNM low-income EV charger rebate is $4,250 including installation.  Multifamily income qualified community rebates are up to $10,000/charger port. PNM’s off-peak hours charging program should fill up your tank for ~$3.
    • El Paso Electric offers rebates and incentives for EVs and chargers.
    • Your Rural Electric Coop may have rebates for chargers.
    • You may be able to get up to $2,500 for wiring if you need to add a 240 volt line for charging through the New Mexico Home Energy Efficiency Rebates (HEAR) program.  There is also both a rebate and a tax credit for upgrading an electric panel if needed.  If there is an existing 240 volt line for a dryer, it can be shared for charging with a circuit splitter.
    • If you live in a rural or low-income community, there is a Federal tax credit of 30% up to $1,000 for a charging station. This expires June 30, 2026.
    • The NM State tax credits are $500 or $1000 (<200% Federal poverty level) including installation.  Alternatively the 2024 NM Clean Car Income Tax Credit offers $400 for EV chargers.

If these incentives won’t work for you, you could look into these alternatives:

• • • Are you in Xcel’s service area?  For $12/month you can rent a charger they install through their  EV Accelerate At Home program. This program has been suspended.
    • If you already have a 240 volt line being used by another appliance, consider sharing it with a circuit splitter if an electrician will allow it to avoid wiring or panel upgrades.
    • Use Level 1 charging.
    • If you are renting, see our section for renters under electric cars and chargers.