Manufacturers & Distributors: frequently asked questions

Thermal Energy Storage (TES) systems are required to operate daily during the summer on-peak periods. Eligible TES systems must shift load from the on-peak period to the off-peak period. Qualifying equipment includes, but is not limited to:

• Chilled water or other fluid
• Ice-on-coil (external or internal melt)
• Encapsulated ice or phase change material
• Ice harvester/chiller
• Ice slurry

Incentives are not available for fuel switching, adjustment of controls, maintenance service fees, refurbished equipment with the exception of tanks, and shifting achieved by best practices commissioning.

Note: Battery storage devices and phase-change envelop material are not eligible for PG&E PLS-TES incentives.

Yes, refurbished tanks that are brought back online may be eligible for the PLS-TES Program provided they have not been operable for at least three years.

Customers must submit trend data to PG&E on a monthly basis for five years. See Appendix B of the PG&E PLS-TES Program Manual for a list of required trend points and detailed monitoring requirements.

Energy models will be used to determine a customer’s cooling load profile over a year (8,760 hours). From the profile, the day with the greatest total cooling load in the summer on-peak hours will be identified and the capacity of the TES system will be applied to the on-peak period for that day.

A conversion factor of 0.7 kW/ton will be applied to water-cooled chilled water plants and 1.2 kW/ton will be applied to air-cooled chilled water plants. The final, verified incentive amount for a TES system installation is $875/kW but can vary from the amount estimated in the application and/or the reserved incentive amount if there are changes in the design or operating parameters.

A customer will be entitled to the lesser of the project’s calculated load shift incentive and 50 percent of the project’s verified total project cost. There is also a PLS-TES Program incentive cap of $1.5 million per customer.

Customers have two options for receiving incentives. One option is to receive the incentive in a single installment after the final project verification. The second option is to receive the incentive in two installments:

1. Twenty-five percent of the Feasibility Study cost (up to $10,000) after sending the Commitment Letter.
2. Balance of the incentive is paid after the final project verification.

Refer to the PG&E PLS-TES Program Manual for details.