News · Montana

Montana’s federal rebates stay paused; NorthWestern Energy pays $450 per heat pump until June 30, 2027

By Ionel Glogoveanu, editor. Every figure on this page was checked against the official source on the date shown.

Published September 29, 2026. Facts read on the official source on September 27, 2026.

Montana DEQ says its Home Energy Rebates Program is not available and needs final DOE approval. What pays now: NorthWestern Energy’s $450 heat pump rebate.

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality’s efficiency page, read on September 27, 2026, says the state’s Home Energy Rebates Program is not currently available. Planning was paused in February 2025 while DOE rewrote its guidance; DOE issued an initial revised overview on June 1, 2026, and DEQ must revise and resubmit its application and receive final approval before anything launches. No date is given.

A widely used incentive directory tells Montanans the federal programs ended on May 29, 2026. They did not: DOE Program Notice 26-2 renamed HEAR as HEEHR and changed its rules on that date.

The money that exists now is the utilities’. NorthWestern Energy’s current residential electric form (Form 3743, effective August 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027) pays $450 for a qualifying ducted or ductless heat pump and up to $3,000 off a heat pump water heater installed by a participating contractor. Montana-Dakota Utilities pays $300 for a 95% efficient gas furnace; Bozeman adds $500 for a heat pump water heater.

What this means for you

Do not wait for a state launch that has no date. If you install this winter, NorthWestern’s $450 and the water-heater rebate are real and expire with the current forms on June 30, 2027. Installations completed in July 2026, between the old and new forms, should be checked with NorthWestern directly.