January marks a special time of the year when it comes to utility incentives. For many incentive programs, the budget cycle starts over meaning that the utility has funds to allocate to projects.
In general (note that not all programs are the same), utility companies have special energy efficiency funds set up that their customers pay in to. This may show up as a small line item on a customer’s bill. This money goes into a fund which is monitored by the state’s utility commission. Since the commissions generally do not allow utilities to keep this money for very long, the utility spends all the money each year. Because they must spend it, at some point in the year they usually run out. This varies greatly by utility, but some may have all their money allocated by June while others are scrambling to spend it in December.
This is why January is such a special time. The utilities have new money in their funds and are ready to allocate it to projects. If you wait too long to submit an application, the utility may tell you that they are out of money (and you are out of luck). This doesn’t mean that you have to complete or even start your project at the beginning of the year. Most utilities just require that a project receives pre-approved which reserves the funds for when the project completes. It’s best to get this application submitted to the utility as soon as you know information about your project so that you can be sure your incentive is funded.
It also helps to have someone working with you to navigate the utility incentive waters and make sure you receive the largest incentive you deserve. Forward Engineers has years of experience working with utilities to maximize our clients incentives. Whether your project is big or small, let us handle the details of getting the incentive so all you have to do is cash the check!
