FAQ

• Being energy efficient means using electricity and natural gas more effectively. Installing more energy efficient equipment is a good place to start and save money. In addition, taking advantage of Consumers Energy’s incentives will help offset upfront costs.

• An energy efficient business costs less to run because you have lower utility bills every month. This helps you save money, be more competitive and improves your bottom line. It also helps support the environment. Consumers Energy encourages Michigan businesses to be more energy efficient and gain the rewards.

• Energy efficiency became a statewide initiative under the Clean, Renewable and Energy Efficiency Act of 2008. Now, Consumers Energy is offering its customers new energy-saving opportunities as part of its new program, Consumers Energy Saving Solutions. This program is designed to help our customers use electricity and natural gas energy more efficiently, and save money. The Consumers Energy program and others being implemented around the state will help create jobs in Michigan and provide long-term benefits to the environment.

• Consumers Energy is offering incentives on a defined set of energy efficient equipment generally on a per unit basis. To see which measures are included, visit the pages dedicated to each product category: Lighting, HVAC, Water Heating, Motor & Drive, and Miscellaneous. The program also offers a special incentive for Custom Measures which are not covered by our qualifying measures. The custom incentive is based on the estimated annual energy savings of the improvement. If you have questions about how to calculate the energy savings associated with a custom improvement, call (877) 607-0737.

• All customer information provided to Consumers Energy will be held in confidence.

• Because available funds are capped each year, incentives will be offered until individual efficiency programs have reached their capacity. Once funds have been exhausted, Consumers Energy will create a waiting list to manage incentive requests and monitor funding availability as the filed projects are completed. Notification will be posted on the Web site as to when the annual program caps have been met. Those who have submitted incentive forms after the funding cycle has fully subscribed with ongoing projects may either receive an incentive the same year if funds become available, or delay their project and reapply for the following year’s funding. However, since program rules and incentive levels may change from year to year, there is no guarantee that the project will be eligible under the following year guidelines

• Consumer Energy has submitted a program plan to the Michigan Public Service Commission that runs through 2014. However, the Michigan Public Service Commission has some authority to modify or stop this program at any time.

• As of this time, this program applies to only existing building and not to new construction. However, Consumers Energy anticipates offering incentives and other services for new buildings within the next few months.

• The purchaser of a qualifying energy efficiency measure may participate in the program as long as the measure is installed in a business facility served by Consumers Energy. Specific details on eligibility can be found in the Terms & Conditions listed on the application forms (PDF or Excel ). 

• Yes, as long as Consumers Energy delivers the energy to the facility.

• A program application must be completed and submitted to receive an incentive. Download application forms (PDF or Excel) here. The application form is used as a Pre-notification Application to reserve funding prior to measure installation and as a Final Application to request an incentive after the project is completed. The Pre-notification Application is required for delamping, T5/T8 fixtures and all custom measures, but is strongly encouraged for all other measures to ensure funding availability.

• After you’ve downloaded an application, fill out the entire application and send it to Consumers Energy via mail, e-mail or fax. This pre-notification reserves your incentive funding. Pre-notification Applications are strongly encouraged, but only required for delamping, T5/T8 fixtures and custom measures. Once you’ve been notified of your incentive reservation, you have 90 days to purchase and install the eligible measures according to specifications. Then, send the same completed application to Consumers Energy with the additional final application fields completed and include all required documentation and updates. Applications must be submitted within 60 days of project completion. If you’ve installed your project without a pre-notification reservation, you can still apply for an incentive, provided your project did not require pre-notification, by using the “Final Application” options on the application form.

• You have three options for submittal.
  Send applications to:
  Consumers Energy Business Solutions
  P.O. Box 1040
  Okemos, MI 48805
• E-mail: ConsumersEnergyBusinessSolutions@KEMA.com
• Fax: (877) 607-0737

• Energy efficiency measures that are not covered by our list of qualifying equipment may be eligible for a custom incentive. Various requirements and restrictions apply. Refer to the application form (PDF or Excel), or call Consumers Energy toll-free at (877) 607-0737.

• Consumers Energy can help you identify potential energy savings measures that are appropriate for your facility. Contractors that sell and install energy efficiency equipment may also be a useful source for this information.

• No.  Fuel-switching measures are not eligible for an incentive.

• On-site generation and renewable projects, such as solar water heaters or photovoltaic installations, do not currently qualify, but incentives may become available for these types of projects later in 2009.

• The Consumer Energy program will only pay incentives for measures that save energy served by Consumer Energy. If a qualifying measure saves both natural gas and electricity such as a programmable thermostat, you cannot apply for an incentive for the same measure from both utilities. However, a custom incentive can be paid by two utilities for the same measure if the measure saves both gas and electricity since each utility will only base the incentive on the savings for the commodity they serve.

• Once your Pre-notification Application has been approved, funds will be reserved for 90 days. Consumers Energy will review your Final Application to determine the appropriate incentive amount. If your incentive amount is greater than the reserved amount, we will determine if there are funds available to pay the additional incentive. There is no guarantee that funds will be available for incentives above the reserved amount.

• The Final Application must be signed by a representative of the firm or organization that purchased the qualifying energy efficiency measures.  However, any party such as the contractor or a consultant can fill out the application and apply for an incentive. The measures must be installed at a business facility served by Consumers Energy.

• The incentive paid through this program may be considered taxable income. The program is required to report the incentive using the IRS Form 1099 if it is over $600 for certain types of firms. Consumers Energy is not responsible for any taxes that may be imposed on your business as a result of your receipt of this incentive.

• The pre-notification step allows us to reserve program funds for your project for up to 90 days. Pre-notification is strongly encouraged for all projects, and is required for delamping, T5/T8 fixtures and all custom measures. We cannot guarantee funding for projects that skip the pre-notification process.

• Reserved funds are not transferable to other projects and/or customers.

• The Final Application must include project documentation, such as copies of dated invoices for the purchase and installation of the measures and product specification sheets. The project invoice should provide sufficient detail to separate the project cost from the cost of other services such as repairs and building code compliance, as well as show the location where the measures were installed. Consumers Energy reserves the right to request additional supporting documentation to ensure measure eligibility and verify the expected energy savings will occur. Please call (877) 607-0737 if you have any questions about documentation requirements.

• Contact Consumers Energy for information on your application status.  Also contact us if your project plans change after submitting your Pre-notification Application.

• The review of a Pre-notification Application generally takes only one to two weeks if no inspection is required and two to four weeks if an inspection is necessary to confirm the pre-existing equipment. The review of the Final Application generally will take two to four weeks. These general review times assume that a fully completed, accurate application is submitted with the required documentation. Inaccurate applications or insufficient documentation can increase the review time. Incentive checks are generally paid within two weeks after review and notification of the final application but could take as long as six weeks in some situations.

• Yes. View our list of participating contractors who have gone through our orientation process. The program does not recommend, qualify, or otherwise approve contractors for participation. If you are a contractor that would like to participate in one of our overview seminars, please contact us via email at ConsumersEnergyBusinessSolutions@KEMA.com or call (877) 607-0737.

• No. Many customers choose to install the measures with in-house staff. In this situation, the vendor that sells the equipment to you should be listed as the contractor on the application form. Please note that for self-installed measures, internal labor costs are not an eligible project cost.

• No, but because of the 90 day reservation window, we strongly recommend that you have a contractor/vendor selected before you submit your application. We will not accept multiple Pre-notification Applications from more than one contractor for the same project.

• The applicant may have the incentive sent directly to the contractor or other third party by filling out and signing the payment release section of the Final Application form.

• Each facility may receive up to $300,000 in incentives per program year. That includes up to $100,000 in incentives for qualifying equipment and up to an additional $200,000 per facility for custom measures. Custom incentives are paid at a rate of 100 percent up to the first $100,000 and at a rate of 50 percent after that up to the $200,000 per facility custom cap. The total custom incentive is also limited to 50 percent of the total installed cost for all custom measures combined. If a Consumers Energy customer has more than one facility, the maximum incentive that a customer can receive is $500,000 per year across all facilities.

• A facility is defined as contiguous property with one or more energy accounts paid by the same customer. A customer is typically defined by a unique taxpayer ID although some exceptions may apply for very large organizations that have separate decision making and notification groups. Please contact Consumers Energy for additional clarification.

• The 50 percent custom cost cap applies to the whole project. However, Consumers Energy reserves the right to apply this cap to individual measures when measure costs are significantly higher than typical costs seen in this program. For non-custom measures, no incentives can exceed the project cost.

• No. Projects that use qualified equipment are not eligible for a custom incentive. However, Consumers Energy may decide to apply the custom incentive to an entire project when the interaction of the eligible equipment and custom measures makes it difficult to determine the savings for just the custom measures.

• No, a reservation is not a guarantee that you are entitled to a specific amount. The actual payment will be based upon our review of your Final Application and supporting documentation, and may be subject to a site inspection. Many terms and conditions can only be validated based upon the Final Application, such as the model number of equipment installed and the project cost. The payment amounts will be based on the information provided in your Final Application and may be verified via an inspection.

• Consumers Energy reserves the right to perform measurement and verifications activities for a period of five years after the measures were installed.

• Extensions are granted on a case-by-case basis. If your delivery of ordered equipment exceeds the reservation period, we will likely provide an extension. Please contact Consumers Energy for specific questions regarding funding reservations.

• For each fixture that is retrofitted, you would have a quantity of one 8’ permanent lamp removal and two 4’ T8 lamp with ballast installed. The incentive for the two 4’ T8 lamps would depend on whether the lamps and ballast qualify as a high performance or reduced wattage system. For example, an existing fixture with two 8' T12 lamps retrofitted to two 4' T8 high performance lamps with electronic ballasts will receive an incentive of $6/lamp for the two high performance lamps and ballast that are installed, and $10/lamp removed for the one 8' lamp that is permanently removed, for a total incentive of $22. 

• No, incentives will be paid only after the project has been completed and the final application has been submitted, reviewed, and approved.

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