Large Energy Users Program

Summary

Focus on Energy offers financial incentives to eligible business customers who install many types of qualifying energy efficient equipment in existing buildings. The program offers both prescriptive incentives for a variety of specific improvements and custom incentives for improvements that do not fall under any of the prescriptive listings. In order to receive awards participants must be a customer of a participating electric or gas utility (i.e., participating gas utility for gas incentives and participating electric utility for electricity incentives). In addition, the Large Energy Users Program is applicable only to businesses that have been billed over $60,000 for all eligible energy bills in a single month and either an electric demand greater than 1,000 kW or natural gas consumption greater than 100,000 therms in any given month in the past year. Businesses that do not fit this description may be eligible for the Small Business Program or the Business Incentives Program

Below is a list of equipment categories for which incentives are available, with short descriptions of some eligible technologies. Interested parties should see the program web site for a complete list of offerings, incentive amounts and detailed qualifying criteria. Application periods run from April 1-March 31 of each year.

• Commercial Refrigeration: Anti-Sweat Heater Controls; Reach-In Case Doors; Occupancy Sensors for LED Lighting Reach-In Freezer or Cooler Cases; Cooler Evaporator Fan Motors; Night Curtains for Open Coolers; Beverage Cooler Controls
• Compressed Air: Compressed Air System Audit and Leak Repair; Air Compressor Equipped with Variable Speed Drive
• Food Service: Food Service for Businesses
• HVAC: HVAC for Businesses; Electric Chillers; Boiler Combustion Controls 
• Industrial: Energy Efficient Repulper Rotor and Pressure Screen Rotor; Energy Efficient Radiant Tube Inserts for Heat Treating; Energy Efficient Radiant Heater Band for Plastics
• Information Systems: PC Network Controls; Dry coolers for Data Centers
• Lighting: Lighting for Businesses; Lighting for Agribusiness Facilities; Whole-Building Lighting Program for Schools and Government Facilities
• Specialty Measures: Guestroom Energy Management Controls; ENERGY STAR Vending Machines; Vending Machine Controls; Truck Loading Dock Seals; Truck Loading Dock LED Lighting
• Variable Frequency Drives

To obtain custom incentives, interested applicants must work with a Focus on Energy adviser to obtain pre-approval for projects prior to purchasing and installing the equipment. Projects with less than a 1.5 year simple payback are not eligible, and projects with a simple payback of four to ten years maybe be subject to case-by-case eligibility determinations depending on technology, project type, and situation. Custom incentives must be no more than 30% of project costs, and are limited to $200,000 per project. An individual customer may receive up to $400,000 for prescriptive and custom projects combined per calendar year.