PJM Energy Credits (Rebate Program)
Anybody involved in the energy/electric utility industry in Ohio is at least familiar with the ongoing battle around House Bill 6. There is a list of entities on both sides, but the gist of the legislation is that it ended rebate programs and renewable energy credits (RECs) in the state (Note: there has been a further wrinkle, after recent bribery allegations against the Ohio Speaker of the House, but currently House Bill 6 is still law).
That means after Sep. 30, 2020 (or in some cases Dec. 31, 2020), I can no longer receive “free” utility rebate money on my completed lighting/HVAC/VFD/etc. project, right?
WRONG
Introducing the PJM Energy Credits program
Virtually unknown in Ohio, this rebate program has been around since ~2012. It is run by PJM (Pennsylvania/Jersey/Maryland), the electric grid operator that covers most of the territory from Chicago to Washington, DC, including all of Ohio. They offer this program often IN ADDITION to your local utility rebate program, so that for customers in many utility territories you can/could receive both rebates. Almost nobody ever did, which meant that $100,000s of dollars were simply left on the table by companies from your local Mom and Pop retailer to major Fortune 500 companies. Think of it as an unclaimed IRS refund, without the hassles of the IRS.
How is this program affected by House Bill 6?
The PJM energy credits program is NOT connected in any way, and is available regardless of the eventual outcome of House Bill 6.
Why does PJM offer rebates?
For the same reason that your electric utility: to incentivize energy efficiency and reduce peak demand on the grid during summer or winter.
How complicated are the rebates to get? Is it worth my time?
Actually, it takes the same amount of time, as it did/does to put a local utility rebate app together. In fact, 90% of the documentation is identical, so if you submitted a project, you should have all the docs somewhere on your computer
How much are the rebates?
They are not as lucrative as most utility rebates, but still free money. A good rule of thumb is? $0.20-$0.40 of additional PJM rebate money for each $1 of local utility rebates. Also, you will be paid that total spread over 4 years, which is different from the one-time payment by your local utility.
You can also go back and “rebate harvest” up to 4 years, if you never received the PJM rebate for a project (Many customers fall into this category). That said, this gets a little trickier in practice, so please call us and we can explain how the harvesting process works.
I have a lot of smart people working for me. None of them ever heard about PJM energy credits, what’s the catch?
Your energy team is unfamiliar with the program likely for a couple of reasons. Unlike your local utility rebate program that accepts projects big and small, the PJM program doesn’t, at least not directly. They don’t have the resources to review small projects, so there is a min. 100 kW requirement (equivalent to ~5 grocery story LED retrofits), which eliminated a lot of smaller/medium-sized projects. Second, you have to be a PJM member (or work through a PJM member) to access the rebate program, which eliminated even more projects. Finally, they have not done a good job of advertising the program and even Google is not your friend. It takes you to links that are at best confusing, at worst require a rocket science degree to understand.
So?
That’s where Parker Energy Solutions comes in. We aggregate all those smaller projects, so that together they hit the 100 kW threshold and everybody gets paid. We do the project review, verify claimed savings are reasonable (like any utility program), assemble the paperwork, and then submit the application.
And you get paid.
How do YOU get paid?
We get paid strictly as a percentage of rebate payout, similar to a commission arrangement. No upfront cost. We are also open to sharing some of our percentage/commission with companies/contractors, who bring us a volume of projects.
We want to work with you, whether you are small, medium, or large, whether you are an end-customer, contractor, energy broker, etc.? Give us a call.
Ok, how do I get in touch with you?
Please call Andrew Nagy at (419) 973-6503 or email at anagy@parkerfob.com
