xcelenergy.com

The lone residential utility rebate for Colorado I found on Xcel Energy’s web site today.

According to the city government’s Climate Action Plan, utility rebates are a key strategy to make energy-saving projects happen in Boulder, Colorado. These rebates are when our local utility, Xcel Energy, pays or reimburses part of the cost of energy-saving measures for residential, commercial and industrial customers — effectively lowering the cost and speeding the payback of these projects. The city expects Xcel to kick in, through rebates, more than $10.3 million toward the cost of local energy efficiency measures by 2012.

As I wrote earlier, Boulder doesn’t have a whole lot of time to meet its self-imposed goal of cutting its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 350,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2012. In order to achieve those savings on schedule, Boulderites must start saving energy now.

Utility rebates can help motivate individuals and organizations to take action to save energy — IF people know about them, and if the program rules and processes are simple enough to encourage participation (rather than cause confusion and frustration).

Those can be pretty big “ifs,” as I just found out when I visited Xcel’s web site…

When you’re trying to figure out which utility rebate options are available to you, where’s the first place you’d look? In a highly “wired” town like Boulder, the natural answer for many people is: the utility’s web site.

Unfortunately, Xcel’s site currently appears to offer scant and hard-to-find information on only one kind of residential rebate available in Boulder.

I just visited xcelenergy.com and clicked “residential.” On the main residential page, at the top of the left-hand navigation bar, I entered my Boulder zip code: 80303. The resulting page said, encouragingly, “Plug into programs and resources for rebates and incentives offered in your area.”

That link took me to a page where I had to hunt through several links to discern which were rebates. It turned out that only one of the programs mentioned there, under home cooling, is an actual rebate — for installing evaporative cooling (”swamp coolers”). None of the other residential programs mentioned on that page were rebates — although several were other options to save money.

Here are the details on that rebate:

For evaporative coolers with an ISR Air Flow Rating of at least 2,500 CFM, Xcel will rebate $200 OR the purchase price of the evaporative cooling unit as shown on the receipt, whichever is less. Purchase a qualifying unit from a participating evaporative cooling retailer between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2007. Customers are NOT REQUIRED to purchase a qualifying unit from a participating evaporative cooling retailer or dealer to be eligible for a rebate, but most participating retailers have rebate applications. Alternatively, download an application or call 1-800-895-4999 to request for #1524. Limit one rebate per household. You must purchase and install your evaporative cooling unit prior to submitting the rebate application.

I’m checking with Xcel Energy by phone to see whether they’re offering any other residential rebates in Boulder. I hope so, because otherwise that estimated $10.3 million in utility rebates might not work out. I’ll post more on utility rebates later as I get more answers and information.

The bottom line here is: My initial utility rebate research foray was disappointing. If Xcel does indeed offer other local residential rebates, it’s possible that net-savvy Boulderites might be discouraged from pursuing this option based on what they can find quickly online.

I’m not asking — or expecting — that Xcel Energy should overhaul its web site just to suit Boulder. However, it would be nice if their residential programs section offered clear, complete, and easily findable rebate information. They do a much better job of providing rebate information for business customers.

BEYOND XCEL

Xcel isn’t the only source of energy efficiency and renewable energy rebates in town. Last December the city of Boulder enacted its own solar rebate ordinance.

According to the city’s press release:

“City of Boulder sales and use tax paid on solar energy systems after Dec. 14 will be eligible for a tax rebate. Boulder City Council approved an ordinance in November to provide rebates for a portion of sales and use tax on both solar electric (photovoltaic) and solar thermal (hot water) systems. …Residents and businesses paying the tax will receive thirty-five percent of the rebates. The remaining sixty-five percent will be used to rehabilitate or install renewable energy systems on affordable housing and site-based non-profit organizations.”

The city’s forthcoming climate action web site, beclimatesmart.com (due to launch Sept. may offer information on utility rebates. Stay tuned

For now, Boulder’s Center for ReSource Conservation offers information on rebates, home energy audits, and other options for energy-conscious Boulderites (1702 Walnut Street, 303-441-3278).

This entry was posted on Monday, July 2nd, 2007 at 9:26 pm and is filed under Buildings, Follow the money, Residential, Utilities. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.