In a Facilities.net article about filing for utility incentives and rebates, the author warns that facility managers must be proactive when filing for incentive and rebate applications, lest they miss their opportunity to receive them. The article states, “. . . late filing or incomplete paperwork can cost a facility manager a chance at a rebate,” which “could doom a proposed energy efficiency project.” There’s always a risk. Applications may not be accepted. Gambling with time and money is not in the company’s best interest, especially when energy efficiency incentives, which can range between 15-70 percent, significantly impacting the payback of the project.
Leveraging ESCOs for Utility Incentives
Instead of tackling the utility incentive process alone, facility managers have a simpler solution: work with an energy services company (ESCO). An ESCO works with facility managers throughout the entire energy efficiency project, from the initial site audit through the installation, and they apply for the utility incentives on the company’s behalf. Working with an ESCO makes all stages of the project, including the application for incentives and rebates, easy.
ESCOs work directly with utility companies under energy efficiency programs, so there is virtually never an instance where an application is denied. What’s more, an ESCO negotiates incentives for you on your behalf, leveraging knowledge and experience to maximize the return on investment.
Benefits of Working With an ESCO:
- Provides a faster turnaround time: complimentary facility evaluation, project design, and approved proposal stage
- Provides a complete turnkey solution: gaining approvals from the utility for proposed state-of-the-art lighting and mechanical products
- Handles all project management: vetting electrical contractors, waste management, and final installation
- Presents transparent cost and energy saving information with incentives included in the project calculations
- Niche capabilities with engineers and technical experts in the field of lighting and mechanical products to ensure energy savings and investment maximization
- Up-to-date information on energy efficiency program changes and other important information that may affect your project or incentive application
Utility Incentives Budget
Utilities have different budgets for energy efficiency projects, based upon individual state budget allocations. National Grid’s budget for energy efficiency projects, for example, will differ from Massachusetts than New York. Once the budget runs out, facility managers seeking incentives and rebates have to wait until the program opens again the next year, which may stifle an organization’s sustainability ambitions. Unitil, an electric and gas utility company in New Hampshire, for example, has a limited budget every year, which usually dries up around April. Customers who call up after the incentives are spent are put on a waiting list, making it even tougher to apply for incentives the following year. Working with an ESCO makes it easier to get your project and incentive application pushed through before incentive monies are expended.
Bottom Line
Facility managers know their business better than anyone, including the ways in which their business consumes energy and the energy efficiency upgrades that are necessary to save energy and money and improve the company’s bottom line. Working with an ESCO, however, can streamline the process, including the application for utility incentives. In states where energy efficiency projects are in high demand and utility budgets are limited, it only makes sense to work an ESCO to greatly improve the odds of having a project approved for that calendar year.