Dear Participating Contractors,
As you are aware the Energy Upgrade California® Home Upgrade is a statewide program offered locally by Los Angeles County/Southern California Regional Energy Network (SoCalREN). This program is available to Los Angeles County residents who receive service from both Southern California Edison (SCE) and SoCalGas®. For this reason, the SoCalREN program needs to maintain alignment with the program polices and offerings from SCE and SoCalGas. Recently, SCE and SoCalGas made changes in order to maintain the program’s viability.
Please review the following program changes and related impacts to the SoCalREN Home Upgrade program:
Program Changes: The following changes apply to all SoCalREN Home Upgrade projects submitted after 5:00 p.m. on August 14, 2017. We understand the short notice, so if you currently have a project in progress affected by these changes, please contact your Account Manager (Linnea Hofstrom or Erin Croteau) to discuss the possibility of an exception. An updated Contractor Manual further detailing the changes will be posted to the program website for download and use.
- Dual submissions will no longer be allowed; only one project per home per year may be reserved. The $3,000 per year incentive limit will be enforced per SCE/SCG customer account.
- Homes built in 2002 or later are not eligible to participate in the SoCalREN Home Upgrade program. These homes may be eligible through the SCE/SoCalGas Energy Upgrade California Home Upgrade Program’s Advanced Home Upgrade pathway.
- Projects claiming a furnace measure (sole or part of larger installation) also require proof of permit closure.
- For the duct insulation measure, all accessible ducts must be insulated (50% minimum of all ducts). Note: All new ducting must be insulated 100%.
- Invoices must include itemized costs including the cost per measure and work done for each measure intended to be incentivized. Total project costs should not include costs not required for the project (e.g. 80 AFUE furnace, solar PV systems, new heating or cooling system that is not replacing like-for-like existing system, etc.). Costs required for the project are allowed (permit fees, testing costs, engineering, etc.). You may add a project cost subtotal on the invoice that excludes any non-related costs.
Updated Program Documents: We have updated program resource documents, which will be available for download from the program website on or prior to August 15:
Homeowner Terms and Conditions – This form has been updated with the SoCalREN program name, the 90-day reservation period, and the 50% of project cost cap maximum requirement.
SoCalREN Combustion Safety Certification Testing Form -- This form can be used to report results of either BPI Building Analyst testing or Combustion Appliance Ambient CO and Whole House Gas Leak Testing, depending on what is required by your scope of work. We will also accept similar forms from other programs if they include the same information.
SoCalREN Home Upgrade Calculator -- The incentive and energy savings calculator has been updated to match current program requirements. Language throughout has been revised to match our SoCalREN program name and to use incentive dollars instead of points for checking minimum requirements.
Reminders:
- The SoCalREN Energy Upgrade California Home Upgrade program is only available for single-family detached homes. Multi-unit (2-4 unit) homes may apply through the SCE/SoCalGas and SoCalGas Energy Upgrade California Home Upgrade Programs’ Advanced Home Upgrade pathway.
- Projects with attic insulation, air sealing, wall insulation or windows do require full BPI BA combustion safety testing and blower door testing. These projects must submit the blower door test-out photo and BPI test result information. Projects claiming air sealing must also include the air sealing/MV calculator.
If you have any program or project questions or need any assistance, please contact your Account Managers; they are happy to help!
Linnea Hofstrom (213) 312-1757
Erin Croteau (949) 333-6631
