Customers find incentive in a variety of rebates

Rebate programs can grow out of a utility’s load management goals, regional conditions, partnerships with businesses or municipalities, consumer demand or a breakthrough in some promising technology. The customer’s list of reasons for participating in such programs tends to be much shorter: saving money and protecting the environment. The following “rebate roundup” tells how a few utilities in Western’s service area are helping consumers do just that.

Energy efficiency credits help Tri-State members market conservation

Among the support services Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc., offers its 44 member utilities is an energy efficiency credits package. Tri-State's program provides its members with cash credits to reward customers who install or upgrade to electric heating systems, electric hot water heaters or electric motors meeting standard efficiency requirements. Utilities offering the energy efficiency credits program must add their own incentives specified by Tri-State.

Heating systems covered by the program include resistance heat, electric thermal storage, ground-source heat pumps, and air source heat pumps with electric and nonelectric backups. Electric water heaters with a 30-gallon minimum capacity are eligible for credits, with additional rebates available for lifetime warranties and timers. Super-efficient water heaters tied to ground source heat pumps qualify for even higher rebates.

“Our objective is to provide our members with marketing incentives which also encourage energy efficiency,” said Mark McGahey, Tri-State marketing and member services manager. “Energy efficiency credits give our smaller members a hand in promoting efficient technologies to their customers.”

DMEA rebates promote GeoExchange

Tri-State members can offer the entire credit package or select parts that best match their customers’ needs. Delta-Montrose Electric Association of Montrose, Colo., offers rebates for hot water heaters and ground-source heat pumps, but not for electric motors and other forms of electric heating systems.

“With a limited budget, you have to make choices,” explained Energy Specialist Nikki Schmalz. “DMEA never got many requests for electric motor rebates when we offered them,” she recalls. “On the other hand, there is a big demand efficient heating systems. So we are using our rebate dollars to endorse the most efficient heating technology available, and that¹s the ground source heat pump.”

Chimney Rock customizes Tri-State plan

Chimney Rock Public Power District has adopted Tri-State’s whole program and added some touches of its own. The Bayard, Neb. utility offers free home energy audits to all of its customers.

On hot water heaters, CRPPD’s incentive is higher than Tri-State’s requirement. “Electric hot water heaters have been very popular with our customers, both for retrofitting and new construction,” explained General Manager Larry Fiscus “It’s a way to improve a home’s energy efficiency that doesn’t require a lot of construction.”

Next year, when Tri-State drops the credits for uncontrolled resistance heating in favor of more efficient technologies, Chimney Rock will continue to offer rebates on those units. “We still have some customers installing resistive heat,” Fiscus noted. “That helps us with our load building, so we’re helping them.”

MEAN teams with towns to offer rebates

The idea that conservation is good for the community as well as the consumer powers Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska’s Retail Energy Assistance Program. The electricity wholesale arm of Nebraska Municipal Power Pool, MEAN provides financial assistance to commercial, residential, and industrial retail customers installing efficient electric heat pumps and electric water heaters.

The rebates might seem comparatively low at first glance, explained Tim Sutherland, chief operating officer of NMPP in Lincoln, Neb. However, most of MEAN’s member municipalities match the rebates dollar for dollar.

“Their participation effectively doubles the incentives consumers receive for installing energy saving equipment,” said Sutherland, adding proudly, “It was a real collaboration. Many of the communities approached us to develop REAP.”

Customer response to the program has been steady, with five to six requests per week, which pleases Sutherland. “Conservation is an energy resource that our municipalities choose to work with consumers to develop.”

Vendors’ promotion boosts success of cooling rebates

Businesses are also joining utilities in promoting energy efficiency. Under its Ka$h for Kilowatts banner, Platte River Power Authority launched a Cooling Rebate Pilot Program for energy-efficient central air conditioners and heat pumps for residential and small to medium commercial customers.

“The beauty of it was, we had to do only a little promotion ourselves,” said Marketing Services Manager Jon Little.

The electricity provider sent information and forms to HVAC dealers in their service area of Fort Collins, Estes Park, Longmont and Loveland, Colo. The dealers, who had experience with a similar program offered by Xcel, were happy to spread the word to their customers. “They get a higher commission on the efficient units,” Little noted. Customers get help on the purchase price of the equipment and lower energy bills, and we get closer to our goal of reducing the growth of our summer peak. It’s a win-win-win proposition.”

Everybody likes to win, judging from the response to the program. Since Platte River began offering the rebate in March 2002, they have paid 1,300 rebates, or 175 percent of their projection. “It totally blew away our expectations,” admitted Little. “We are definitely offering it in 2003.”

Flexibility is key to commercial and industrial incentive plan

The Electric Efficiency Pilot Program, a Ka$h for Kilowatts program for Platte River’s large commercial and industrial customers, funds projects that save energy or demand. Any installation intended to reduce summer peak electric demand (June to August, Monday to Friday, 3 to 7 p.m.), either through energy efficiency measures or load shifting, is eligible for a rebate.

Platte River has received applications for projects ranging in size from about 40 kW to 120 kW, with an average of about 60 kW. Nine projects have been approved this year. The two that have been completed, a lighting project and the repair of a cooling tower, save a total 91 kW.

“We’re looking for hard capital improvements with a life of at least 10 years,” said Paul Davis, a customer service engineer who manages the program. “But within those parameters, there are lots of ways to increase energy efficiency.”

The Electric Efficiency Pilot Program encourages commercial and industrial customers to come up with energy saving solutions tailored to the nature of their businesses and their facilities, Davis explained. “And then it rewards them for their creativity.”