NM Energy$mart

The NM Energy$mart Program receives funding from the Department of Energy, LIHEAP and from utility companies such as New Mexico Gas and PNM. MFA awards these funds to community action agencies, nonprofit organizations or local governments through a competitive request for proposals process based on their experience and capacity to perform the required repairs.

COVID-19 Work Plan

The NM Energy$mart Program is approaching weatherization during the pandemic in a slow and careful manner. Agencies have undergone extensive training in order to safely perform weatherization on client homes.  Clients that have been determined to be next on the waiting list will be pre-screened prior to any work being scheduled.  All clients, participants, program staff, contractors, and other program stakeholders that may be visiting homes will be required to follow the safe protocol outlined in the Energy$mart COVID Safety Response Plan (ESCSRP).  All individuals that visit agency offices or homes where agency staff are working are asked to fully cooperate with the program criteria outlined in the ESCSRP, CDC guidelines, NM Department of Health guidelines, and individual agency pandemic response plans in order to keep both program staff and home occupants safe. 

Guidelines and Regulations

Federal Guidelines and Regulations

The NM Energy$mart Program strives for best practice by encouraging all subrecipients and partners to be familiar with the federal guidelines that govern the program. 

The first and most important set of regulations is the 10 CFR 440. This was written after Title IV of the Energy Conservation and Production Act put the Weatherization Program into place. This is the first place that should be consulted when confronted with program questions. This forms the backbone of the program and supports a good portion of the guidance that the Department of Energy has issued throughout the years.

The next most helpful set of guidance is issued directly from the Department of Energy. Guidance is issued in the form of "WPNs" or memorandums. There is a a searchable database that dates as far back as 1984. Their link can be found here: https://www.energy.gov/eere/wipo/weatherization-program-guidance.

The NM Energy $mart Program uses federal funding from both the Department of Energy and Low Income Energy Assistance Program. When grants are used from federal sources, the recipients of the funds are to follow regulations issued by the OMB and are refered to as the 2 CFR 200 or sometimes OMB circular. It is strongly recommended that agencies are familiar with these regulations prior to working with federal funding. 

NM Energy$mart Guidelines and Regulations

Individual states are expected to write their own individual plans that describe how they will use the funding issued by the federal sources. These are referred to as the "State Plans" include links to those pages and consist of two parts: Master Plan and Annual Plan. The Master Plan also contains the Health and Safety Plan as an additional document. Only the most updated plans are used for the current program year. All three are listed below. 

There are also other documents that contain additional information on program compliance such as the Energy$mart RFP that is issued during non-renewal years. Each agency also receives contracts that further describe the requirements of the program.  All agencies are expected to follow the policies and procedures described in the Administration Manual and the NM Technical Standards. Field guides describe how the work that is performed should be done and reference the Standard Work Specifications (SWS) unless specific waivers are issued by the Department of Energy.

Forms and Reference Materials