How PG&E’s On-Bill Financing Can Help You Secure Your Next Project

November 01, 2016PG&E
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How PG&E's On-Bill Financing Can Help You Secure Your Next Project

As a trade professional who sells and installs equipment, you know that many business owners in Central and Northern California appreciate the need for greater energy efficiency, but sometimes fear that new equipment will be cost-prohibitive. In reality, this does not have to be the case, especially for those who qualify for On-Bill Financing (OBF) from PG&E.

 

Armed with knowledge of this innovative program, you can help the businesses you serve move more quickly on your project proposals and reap new cost savings. This can give you a competitive edge in the marketplace.

 

What is OBF, and how can it help you?

OBF provides eligible PG&E business customers with zero-interest loans of $5,000-$100,000 to finance energy efficiency projects that receive PG&E rebates or incentives. Government agencies can obtain loans of up to $250,000.

 

OBF loan terms and monthly payment amounts are determined based on the projected energy savings from the retrofit project. Upon project completion and funding, customers repay the loan via installments on their monthly PG&E bill. Best of all, once the loan is repaid, all energy savings that result from the new energy efficient equipment you’ve installed will translate into lower energy costs – savings the customer can keep. OBF is an invaluable sales tool to help your customer offset potentially large upfront costs.

 

How is the loan term calculated?

To qualify, a project’s estimated energy savings must be sufficient to repay the loan during the maximum allowable payment term: 60 months for business customers or 120 months for government agencies. The monthly payment is calculated based on estimated monthly energy savings.

For example:

Project cost

$10,000

Energy efficiency rebates and/or incentives

($2,500)

Loan Amount (remaining costs to be funded)

$7,500

Estimated monthly energy savings from retrofit

$300

Monthly loan installment billed on PG&E utility bill

$300

Simple payback period (loan amount divided by monthly payment amount)

25 Months

The loan terms for the customer in this example would be $300 per month for 25 months.


Is your customer eligible?

PG&E non-residential customers are eligible for On-Bill Financing if they have maintained an active account for at least 24 months, and have paid all bills on time for the past 12 months.1

 

To find out if their business qualifies for OBF, customers can contact their PG&E Account Representative. Or, contact Business Customer Service to have one assigned. Customers can also visit pge.com/obf. The Account Representative can also help arrange for energy audits and identify additional energy savings opportunities.

 

How customers can benefit

There are numerous ways PG&E’s OBF program can help business owners improve their energy efficiency, and their ability to green-light new projects. You can help make that happen by calling these benefits to their attention:

 

  1. OBF is a zero-interest loan.
  2. Monthly payments are based on their estimated energy savings, meaning projects should be cash flow neutral.
  3. Monthly payments are on their PG&E bill, so no separate statement and no property liens.

 

How to help businesses determine financing eligibility

Below are different kinds of products and equipment that qualify for PG&E’s OBF program when paired with a PG&E rebate or incentive. A full list of rebated products can be found at pge.com/businessrebates.

 

  • Lighting
  • Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC)
  • Boilers and water heating
  • Pipe insulation
  • Refrigeration
  • VFD Applications
  • Food service equipment

 

Utilizing your knowledge of these eligible rebates as well as OBF can help you better target projects with the greatest financial benefits to your customers, and to your own contracting business!

 

Sources:

  1. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PDF, 274 KB)