Utility opposes new rules for heat pumps popular in Maine [Video]

Versant Power is pushing back against a new approach to broaden the use of heat pumps, which already are a key part of Maine’s toolbox to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Efficiency Maine Trust, a quasi-state agency that promotes energy efficiency, has shifted its rebate program to incentivize electric pumps that heat an entire house rather than one or two rooms. Its intent is to make electricity the primary home heat source and discourage the secondary use of oil or gas.

Michael Stoddard, executive director of Efficiency Maine Trust, said one reason for the change is that a federal tax credit of up to $2,000 for a single heat pump is significantly more than the $400 and $800 that Maine once offered as an incentive. In addition, an analysis showed that a heat pump does not operate frequently when a boiler also is running, he said.

Stoddard said a heat pump …