BUSI N ESS FACT SH EET How to Participate ComEd’s Smart Ideas for Your Business® program provides financial incentives to help you achieve your energy efficiency goals. Whether your business is large or small, whether your building is new or old, upgrading to energy-efficient equipment can provide savings that go straight to your bottom line. By reducing the initial project cost, the Smart Ideas program accelerates your payback — and your approval process. Most ComEd business customers in the private sector can participate in ComEd’s Smart Ideas for Your Business program. Because these businesses pay into the Energy Efficiency Programs incentive fund, they qualify for Smart Ideas for Your Business incentives for energy efficiency improvements. Businesses throughout northern Illinois are taking advantage of these incentives to upgrade everything from their lighting to their vending machines. Interested? Read on to find out how to participate in Smart Ideas for Your Business. Don’t know where to start? Contact the Smart Ideas team – we can help you find opportunities to save energy. STEP 1: Check Project and Equipment Eligibility If your business receives its electricity over ComEd wires (i.e., is a delivery service customer of ComEd) regardless of the retail electric supplier from which you purchase power, and your business is on a qualifying non-residential rate, you can participate in ComEd’s Smart Ideas for Your Business program. Several cities and towns, such as Naperville, Geneva and Batavia, have their own electric distribution systems, and businesses in those towns are not customers of ComEd and so are not eligible for Smart Ideas program incentives. Specific details on eligibility can be found in the terms and conditions section of ComEd’s Smart Ideas for Your Business application. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) program offers similar incentives for electricity customers ComEd.com/BizIncentives 1 howtoparticFS08/11 in the public sector, such as government (federal, state and local) buildings, municipal (water and park district) buildings and public schools (including colleges and universities). Information about the DCEO program can be found at www.illinoisenergy.org, by calling (217) 785-2863 or e-mailing the DCEO at illinois.energy@ illinois.gov. To be eligible for an incentive, your project must be a new improvement to an existing facility that results in a permanent reduction in electrical energy usage (kWh). (The Smart Ideas New Construction program provides incentives and technical services for new buildings.) STEP 2: Submit Pre-approval Application (Reserve Funds) ComEd’s Smart Ideas program provides both prescriptive and custom incentives for energy efficiency retrofits. Prescriptive incentives are on a dollars-perunit-installed basis. A unit can be a lamp, fixture, horsepower, linear foot or watt reduction, and incentives range from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars per unit. Custom incentives are different for each project and are determined based on energy savings calculated for the first year. Once you have identified your project and made sure it is eligible for incentives, we strongly recommend that you submit a preapproval application. Applications can be found on the Smart Ideas for Your Business section of ComEd’s Web site (www.ComEd.com/ BizIncentives). There are separate forms for prescriptive indoor and outdoor lighting, HVAC, refrigeration, VSDs, compressed air, and commercial kitchen projects. If you don’t see your electricitysaving measure listed on the appropriate prescriptive incentive form, it may be eligible for a custom incentive. Pre-approval reserves program funds for your project for up to 90 days. Pre-approval is required for some prescriptive applications and for all custom applications, so be sure to read the application forms carefully to determine whether pre-approval is required. Each application includes an incentive worksheet that enables you to calculate your incentive. Applications are available online in PDF or in Microsoft® Excel spreadsheet form. For custom projects, the application is slightly different; you will need to describe the project, determine how much energy it will save, and explain how you calculated the savings and your incentive. Detailed instructions accompany the application. Fill out the application completely and be sure to sign it. Missing information will delay your application. Detailed equipment specifications are included in each application form. All installed equipment must meet or exceed the specifications given in the application to qualify for an incentive. Lighting equipment specifications rely upon the efficiency specifications developed by the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE). Go to the CEE Web site to check the lists of eligible lighting equipment (www.CEE1.org). Many customers choose to work with contractors that have been trained on the Smart Ideas for Your Business program and paperwork. These Trade Allies can be found at www.ComEd.com/ TradeAlly. If you choose to upgrade your facilities with in-house staff rather than through a contractor, leave the contractor information blank on your application form. When your application is received, ComEd’s Smart Ideas team will review it for eligibility and completeness. For some projects, a preinstallation inspection will be necessary, and you will be contacted to schedule it. In some cases, the pre-inspection can be waived if you attach “before” photos — shots of the existing equipment — to your pre-application. If the pre-inspection is waived, be sure to keep a sample of the old equipment or fixtures for the final inspection. If the project is approved, you will receive a letter confirming that your incentive funds have been reserved for 90 days. Funds reserved for one project are not transferable to other projects. STEP 3: Install Equipment or Perform Project work Incentive funds are reserved for 90 days, giving you 90 days to complete a project. To save time, ComEd’s Smart Ideas team strongly recommends that you have a contractor selected before you submit your application. If the work cannot be completed in 90 days, you may qualify for an extension. Extensions are granted on a case-by-case basis. If, for example, ordered equipment cannot be delivered within 90 days, an extension may be granted. Contact ComEd’s Smart Ideas team for specific questions regarding funding reservations and extensions. Make sure that the equipment installed is the equipment listed in the application, and that it meets or exceeds the specifications Smart Ideas® is funded by ComEd customers in compliance with Illinois Public Act 95-0481 ©2011 Commonwealth Edison Company 2 howtoparticFS08/11 provided. It is possible for a project to be disqualified for incentives, even if the application was pre-approved, because the equipment installed was not the equipment approved. The project installation should stay within the scope outlined in the pre-application. If it changes more than 10 percent, contact the Smart Ideas team. STEP 4: Submit Final Application Once you have installed the equipment, you must complete, sign and submit a final application with the specified documentation, within 60 days of completing the project. The final application is the same form as the pre-application, except that you will check the box that says “final” on the applicant information page. Submit the entire final application, which includes: 1.The signed applicant information page. Update the project completion date and project cost, and be sure that your ComEd account number and taxpayer ID number are on the applicant information page. 2.The signed final application agreement. 3.The incentive worksheet for measures installed. 4.An updated scope of work (detailed project description). The scope of work simply lists the type, quantity and wattage of the old (replaced) equipment and the new equipment. 5. Dated, itemized invoices for the purchase and installation of all equipment. 6.Equipment specification sheets showing that equipment installed meets program specifications. Make sure your scope of work, specification sheets and invoices correspond to the incentive worksheet and the total project cost. Providing sufficient documentation and information with the final application will help avoid delays caused by requests for more information. A checklist on the applicant information page of each application helps you remember the necessary documentation. Incentive payments are based on a review of the final application and supporting documentation, as well as a site inspection if necessary. Many of the program’s terms and conditions can only be validated when the project is complete and the final application is received, so your incentive amount may be adjusted at the time of the final application. STEP 5: Receive Incentive Payment ComEd’s Smart Ideas team will review the final application. Once the application and supporting documentation are completed and approved, the incentive check will be mailed within four to six weeks. Contact Us For more information about ComEd’s Smart Ideas for Your Business call 888-806-2273 or visit www.ComEd.com.