Independent research, updated September 3, 2026. Some product links are affiliate. No test lab. How we work

Sources checked August 30, 2026 · not tax advice

How to check state and utility battery rebates after 25D ended

The federal 30% is gone for a battery you will own in 2026. This page is how to check whether anything else still pays. It is not a 50-state table.

Edited by K Singh. Dated official program pages only. No invented dollar amounts.

The federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D) does not apply to a homeowner-owned battery whose installation is completed after 31 December 2025. IRS FAQs on Public Law 119-21 (checked 30 August 2026): the credit “will not be allowed for any expenditures made after December 31, 2025,” and an expenditure is treated as made when original installation of the item is completed. Paying in 2025 does not save a 2026 install. Federal recap: 25D has ended.

This page is the next job. If you cannot name the program and open its portal, treat the line as $0.

Five things people mix under “rebate”

Do not add these as one number.

  1. Upfront reservation rebate — a program administrator holds a dollar amount against your project. California SGIP is this type.
  2. Performance / BYOD / connected-solutions pay — the utility pays per kW of average discharge during called events. An annual or seasonal check, not a discount at checkout.
  3. Sales-tax holidays and property-tax exemptions — state-specific. Do not generalize.
  4. Interconnection fee waivers — paperwork, not a hardware rebate.
  5. A lease that claims a commercial credit — someone else owns the system. Read the contract. See the tax page.

A portable you can order this month usually does not sit in (1) or (2). Those programs are built around interconnected, permitted storage. Shop-ready path: Find my backup.

How to check (one afternoon)

Assume zero. Then try to break that assumption with a named link.

  1. Read the utility name off the bill. Not the solar installer. Not the battery brand. The company that sends the kWh invoice.
  2. Search DSIRE by zip. dsireusa.org is operated by the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center at N.C. State University (checked 30 August 2026). Use “Find Policies & Incentives Near You” with a five-digit zip, then open storage / battery / demand-response hits. DSIRE is a map, not the application. Click through to the program’s own site.
  3. Search the utility site itself for battery, energy storage, connected solutions, BYOD, SGIP, rebate. Bookmark the enrollment page, not a 2024 press release.
  4. Read the portal the way an auditor would. Open, waitlisted, or closed — in their words, dated. Who submits (you or a registered developer). When money moves (reservation, inspection, or a season of events). Eligible equipment and interconnection. Whether a portable or a plug-and-play stack even qualifies.
  5. Ask two installers what they actually closed in the last 90 days. Not “what the program pays.” What they received. If they cannot name the portal, it is not in your budget.
  6. Put only a named, linked program in the spreadsheet. If you cannot find it on the utility or DSIRE, it is not in the budget.

Two worked checks (30 August 2026)

Examples of the method. Not your rebate.

California — SGIP (upfront, mostly waitlisted)

Official application-process page (HTTP 200, 30 August 2026):

As of December 31, 2025, all new application submissions are strictly available to the Residential Solar and Storage Equity (RSSE) AB 209 budget. At this time, all available RSSE AB 209 funding has been reserved. New applications submitted under the RSSE AB 209 budget will be placed on the waitlist in the order they were received and shall be funded through the attrition of cancelled projects.

The same page: the developer or contractor typically manages the application; submissions go to selfgenca.com; there is an approved-developer list. CPUC’s SGIP page (200 the same day) says to check the SGIP home page for whether a particular budget is open or closed.

If an installer still shows an SGIP line on a 2026 quote, ask which budget category and whether it is a live reservation or a waitlist ticket. Do not paste a 2024 $/kWh screenshot into the budget.

Massachusetts — National Grid ConnectedSolutions (performance pay)

National Grid’s Massachusetts Battery Program page (HTTP 200, 30 August 2026) is not an upfront hardware rebate.

Enroll a qualifying battery after it is installed. Events: 1 June–30 September, 3–8 p.m., no more than 60 times, max three hours; you may opt out. Incentive on that page: $275 per kW of average performance over that window; “on average, customers have received $1,200 per year”; rate locked for the first five summers on new systems. Internet is required or the payment is affected. Battery-only (no solar) can participate; discharging to the grid still needs interconnection.

That $1,200 is National Grid’s published average, not a guarantee for your kW. ConnectedSolutions+ is a separate, address-limited extra in named towns. If your utility is Eversource or Unitil, repeat the search on that domain. Do not copy National Grid’s dollars onto another company’s bill.

What not to count

  • Any 2026 article that still subtracts 30% from a system you will own. EcoFlow’s US incentives page (energy.ecoflow.com/us/incentives-and-policy, 200 on 30 August 2026) still narrates 2025 as “the final year.” The IRS FAQ is the 2026 rule. Manufacturer pages can lag.
  • An installer verbal “about $X per kWh” with no program name and no portal.
  • Stacking a waitlist ticket as if it were cash at commissioning.
  • Treating performance pay as an instant discount on the hardware invoice.
  • A portable in the garage counted as SGIP- or ConnectedSolutions-eligible without the utility saying so.

After you find a real program

Interconnection and a main-panel upgrade can still add $1,500–$4,500. That sits in the cost guide, not on the rebate flyer. Confirm who warrants labor, whether the battery must stay online, and whether the hardware is even on the approved-equipment list.

If the only load that matters is a fridge and a medical device, stop looking for a five-figure program and start with a shop-ready portable.

Related OutageShield pages

Sources (checked 30 August 2026)

  • IRS, “FAQs for modification of sections 25C, 25D… under Public Law 119-21” — 25D not allowed for expenditures after 31 Dec 2025; expenditure dated at completed installation. IRS FAQ
  • 26 U.S.C. § 25D(h)
  • DSIRE, dsireusa.org — N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center at N.C. State University. Zip search on the homepage.
  • SGIP application process, sgipsd.org/application — RSSE-only new applications after 31 Dec 2025; funding reserved; waitlist via cancelled projects; developer typically applies; selfgenca.com.
  • CPUC SGIP overview — check the SGIP home page for open/closed budgets.
  • National Grid Massachusetts, Battery Program | ConnectedSolutions — $275/kW average performance 1 Jun–30 Sep; published average $1,200/year; event rules; post-install enrollment.
  • EcoFlow US incentives page — cited only as manufacturer copy that still talks in 2025 tense. Not a 2026 filing source. EcoFlow links on this site stay official and untracked.
  • Prior ENERGY STAR battery-storage credit URL 404ed on 30 August 2026. Not used.

FAQ

Do I still get 30% off a battery I will own in 2026? +
Is this a list of every state rebate? +
Can a portable power station get SGIP or ConnectedSolutions? +
Who files SGIP? +
Can I count National Grid’s $1,200 average in my quote? +

Editor: K Singh. Sources checked 30 August 2026. Page dated 3 September 2026. We are not tax advisers.

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