Greetings Participating Contractors,
We thank you for your participation in the SoCalREN Energy Upgrade California® Home Upgrade Program and for all your hard work in helping Los Angeles County homeowners save energy. To close out another strong year, please see below for important reminders of our end of the year deadlines and tips to ensure smooth and successful completion of projects as we approach the end of the Program’s cycle.
DEADLINES TO REMEMBER:
The SoCalREN Home Upgrade Program is currently set to close on December 31, 2017. However, it may continue in 2018—subject to CPUC authorization, which is not expected to be received until late 2017. We will keep you updated if it is extended.
Please keep in mind that all Project Completion Forms (PCFs) and all required documentation are required to be submitted by
December 31, 2017 11:59 p.m. PST. Please refer to the updated
Terms and Conditions located on the
Program Resources page of the Tenres.com website—available for download and use.
To allow for adequate time to validate utility service accounts and reserve new application submittals, please upload new applications—including signed homeowner Terms and Conditions and utility bills—by
December 15, 2017 11:59 p.m. PST. There will be no guarantee that applications submitted after this deadline will be reserved in time for PCFs to be submitted by December 31. The Contractor Portal will be closed, and we will not be accepting PCF documentation after December 31.
Additionally, you must resolve all remediation issues by
February 28, 2018 in order to receive an approval notice and any incentives for your projects installed in 2017. Examples of remediation issues include the need for mechanical ventilation installations, PACM/asbestos abatement, gas leak repairs, etc. Project Completion Forms not submitted with complete documentation and information by
December 31, 2017, including closed permits, will not be approved.
Reminder: Standalone Rebates Still Available
If you don’t think your project will meet these deadlines, please consider submitting applicable measures through the standalone rebate programs. Southern California Edison (SCE) and SoCalGas® offer standalone rebates for various measures. Check
www.sce.com/rebates and
www.socalgas.com/rebates for more information.
Tips for Beating the Deadline
Below are some tips and best practices to complete your projects and ensure a complete post-retrofit package in time for our deadline.
- To ensure a closed/finalized permit is acquired in time, schedule the city inspection for your project ASAP. Attempt to schedule two to three weeks before the post-retrofit submission deadline of December 31, 2017. There might be problems scheduling inspections during the holidays, and it is best to plan ahead.
- To speed up our review process, please name your files descriptively so that reviewers and processors know which document it is before opening it. Including the customer's last name, address or project number in the file name may help you avoid uploading the files to the wrong project.
- Ensure all invoices are itemized showing the cost per measure installed, and include all measures being claimed for projects submitted to the Home Upgrade Program. Invoices must be marked as paid or show a zero-balance owed by the homeowner, or note if the project is being financed and by what lender. If your invoice also includes other measures/costs not eligible for incentives in the Program, please include a subtotal of the Home Upgrade-related costs on the invoice. Be sure to include the amount discounted to homeowner if the incentive recipient is the contractor.
- For all new applications submitted, check that the correct customer name, address and service account numbers are given (SCE service account numbers begin with a 3). To reduce any errors, have the utility bills handy to verify the correct information when creating the reservation, and upload them with the reservation. Be sure all Terms and Conditions are correctly signed by the SCE service account holder (and property owner if different) and uploaded with the reservation.
- When a gas appliance is installed, or if building air leakage reduction, attic insulation and attic plane sealing, wall installation or windows are being claimed, be sure to complete a Combustion Safety – Certification of Testing form during your test-out to submit as part of your full PCF package—due by December 31, 2017.
If you have any questions or need guidance on post-retrofit submissions, please contact your Account Managers. They are happy to help!
Linnea Hofstrom
Erin Croteau
