HVAC and plumbing contractors and their allies visited Capitol Hill in mid-May with a few simple messages for lawmakers: Slow the march to electrification, be thoughtful in rolling out new consumer incentives, and support programs that create the workforce needed to build a greener economy.

The annual Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors National Association (PHCC) legislative conference took place as contractors adapt to new regulations, from increased energy efficiency standards for some of the equipment they install to a refrigerant transition, and grapple with continued supply-chain disruptions and a shortage of workers with appropriate skills. This year’s conference brought contractors from across the country as well as PHCC staffers and its lobbyists, Chuck White and Mark Valentini, to Washington, D.C., for a series of breakouts sessions as well as networking and the meetings in U.S. House and Senate offices.

The PHCC delegation gathered on the eastern steps of the U.S. Capitol for a group photo on the morning of May 17 before fanning out to nearby congressional offices.

Members told congressional staffers that while they don’t deny the reality of climate change, the nation’s power grid is not ready for a wholesale move to building electrification, and that electrified home systems could end up costing consumers more.

“That is going to be a huge cost to, in a lot of cases, people who can’t really afford it,” said Michael Dolan, president of Dolan Plumbing Heating Cooling Electric, in Somerset, New Jersey, during a visit to the office of Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-New Jersey. “It’s a common-sense issue. Let’s not put the cart before the horse.” Dolan is also chairman of the PHCC government affairs committee.

At the office of Rep. Sam Graves, R-Missouri, they pushed for clarity on the nearly $9 billion in consumer rebates for the installation of high-efficiency HVAC equipment including heat pumps and other home energy-saving measures. The rebates, part of the Biden administration’s push for building decarbonization, were approved nearly 10 months ago as part of the Inflation Reduction Act but are to be administered by state energy offices, and guidance to the states from the Department of Energy has not yet been issued.

The incentives, said Joe Cornetta, a master plumber and owner at Cornetta Brothers Inc. in Elmont, New York, are “a little bit of an unknown for us,” and customers will be coming to contractors for answers. “We’re the ones who’ll be answering the questions from the consumers,” said Cornetta, who works on hydronic systems.

“We’re not against change and we’re not against higher efficiency,” added Cornetta, president-elect of the PHCC board of directors.

Of particular concern for contractors is that the IRA’s rebates — up to $8,000 for a heat pump, for example — are to be paid to consumers at the point of sale. It is not yet clear how the program will work, but contractors say they don’t want to have to front rebate money and then wait for reimbursement from the government.

White, the PHCC vice president for regulatory affairs, said consumers will also turn to contractors when their newly electrified home systems don’t work as expected because of grid failures or other problems.

“We’re going to be caught in the crosshairs of angry consumers,” he said.

The PHCC also voiced support for federal measures they said would help develop the workforce member contractors need. These measures included the National Apprenticeship Act of 2023, an investment of $3.8 billion in apprenticeships over five years; continued funding for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), a grant program for apprenticeship and job training programs such as the ones the PHCC runs; and continued funding for the Perkins Act, which is aimed at getting high school students into trades such as plumbing and HVAC.

“We are seeing a huge uptick in apprenticeships and people wanting to get into the trades,” said Nicole Urizzo, executive director of the New Jersey PHCC, in the office of Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey.

“We can’t get any of the green energy things built without a huge increase in the workforce,” said Dolan.

One member said a dearth of qualified labor is the only thing that keeps him from growing his business.

“I personally turn work away every day” because of a labor shortage, said Cornetta, in Graves’s office.

Some members also spoke out against state and local efforts to prohibit natural gas infrastructure in new construction, saying that the gas distribution system, being underground, is better protected from major weather events than the electrical grid, and that natural gas burns cleanly in today’s high-efficiency furnaces.

Congressional staffers were not prepared to discuss the PHCC’s agenda on the record, but Mike Shanahan, communications director for Watson Coleman’s office, later issued a statement that was supportive of the worker training portion.

Watson Coleman favors programs that would advance workforce education and address labor shortages, Shanahan said in an email.

“She’s a consistent supporter of credentialed apprenticeships and expanding opportunities for good-paying jobs that don’t require advanced education coupled with high debt,” he said.

Watson Coleman does not support the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure beyond what is necessary, Shanahan said.

“She believes we should be focused on the future of energy and properly expanding and exploring safe renewable energy sources,” he said.

None of the other House offices visited by PHCC and The ACHR NEWS together responded on the record to requests for feedback on the meetings.

After the meetings, PHCC members unwound and talked about the visits during a reception at the rooftop bar at the Yotel, the hotel where this year’s conference was based.

Ray Jones, executive vice president at Raven Mechanical in Houston, said the yearly treks to Washington are worthwhile and that legislators appear to understand contractors’ needs.

“Little by little, they see the value,” Jones said. “They see that in what we’re asking.”