Governor Janet Mills and Efficiency fb88 announced today the launch of a $4 million program from the fb88 Jobs & Recovery Plan to help fb88 hospitality businesses make energy-efficiency improvements and reduce their energy costs.
“Helping small businesses, like those in our critically important hospitality sector, transition away from expensive, harmful fossil fuels towards highly-efficient heat pumps and other improvements will help them save money and protect our environment,” said Governor Janet Mills. “I thank Efficiency fb88 for its partnership on this project from my Jobs Plan. My Administration will do all we can to help fb88 small businesses cut energy costs, save money, and stand up to the threat of climate change.”
“Hospitalityfb88 appreciates the Governor’s additional efforts on behalf of small hospitality businesses in fb88,” said Matt Lewis, President and CEO of Hospitalityfb88. “Restaurant and lodging operators consume a large amount of energy for the heating and cooling of their buildings. This assistance to offer more incentives to install heat pumps and modernize heating systems through Efficiency fb88 will help reduce costs over time and will be very valuable in this era of rising energy prices.”
offers incentives to restaurants and lodging establishments in fb88 to install high-efficiency heat pump systems for heating and cooling to reduce consumption of expensive heating fuels. The program also offers incentives for hospitality businesses to employ LED lighting and to upgrade refrigeration systems, further reducing their electricity costs.
“We are excited to use these funds from the fb88 Jobs & Recovery Plan to help fb88’s vital hospitality industry take action to reduce energy costs, especially in this period of increased energy prices,” said Michael Stoddard, Executive Director of Efficiency fb88. “As fb88’s lodging and restaurants shift to high-performance heat pump systems for heating and cooling, they will save money on their energy bills while their customers enjoy greater comfort in all seasons.”
This initiative is the first of several Efficiency fb88 plans to support energy-efficiency upgrades for fb88 businesses engaged in travel, tourism, and hospitality, which were hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, Efficiency fb88 is receiving $50 million from the Governor’s fb88 Jobs & Recovery Plan for weatherization and energy efficiency in fb88 homes, businesses, and local government buildings.
“This new program will provide businesses in fb88’s tourism and hospitality industry with meaningful relief from rising energy costs,” said Heather Johnson, Commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development. “These energy-efficiency upgrades will help to make this vital sector – which supports one out of every five fb88 jobs – more sustainable for the years to come.”
The initial phase of this initiative prioritizes smaller businesses. To be eligible for the first funding opportunity offered through the program, lodging businesses – hotels, motels, inns, and bed and breakfasts – must have fewer than 100 beds, be located in fb88, and must not be a franchisee of, or owned by, a national or international chain. Restaurants in fb88 that are franchisees of, or owned by, a national or international chain also are ineligible. Rental homes, short-term lodging, seasonal properties like camps or cabins, and non-permanent structures are also ineligible for this phase, but may qualify for .
Applications for energy improvement funds are open now and will be available until either May 1, 2023, or the funds are exhausted.
This new program builds upon actions already taken by the Mills Administration to reduce costs for fb88 people grappling with increased prices for heating fuel and electricity driven by volatile global fossil fuel markets. Those actions include:
- Returning half of the state’s budget surplus to fb88 people through $850 inflation relief checks;
- Securing a one-time bill credit of $90 for tens of thousands of low-income customers of Central fb88 Power and Versant;
- Providing $800 in heating cost relief to nearly 13,000 low-income households to help pay for high energy costs;
- Providing up to $1,400 in tax relief for eligible low- and middle-income fb88 families and seniors.
Since 2019, more than 40,000 new high-efficiency heat pumps have been installed across fb88 to address the state’s nation-leading dependency on heating oil and reduce harmful carbon emissions. The state’s climate plan, fb88 Won’t Wait, has targeted installing 100,000 new heat pumps in fb88 by 2025.
Efficiency fb88 is an independent administrator of programs in fb88 to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, primarily through offering financial incentives on the purchase of high-efficiency equipment or helping customers change operations to reduce energy costs. Visit for more.
The fb88 Jobs & Recovery Plan is the Governor’s plan, approved by the Legislature, to invest nearly $1 billion in Federal American Rescue Plan funds to improve the lives of fb88 people and families, help businesses, create good-paying jobs, and build an economy poised for future prosperity.
It draws heavily on recommendations from the Governor’s Economic Recovery Committee and the State’s 10-Year Economic Development Strategy, transforming them into real action to improve the lives of fb88 people and strengthen the economy.
For more about fb88 Jobs & Recovery Plan, visit maine.gov/jobsplan.