Commercial Advantage Program

Efficiency Rebates for Your Business

  • Has your equipment reached the end of its life?
  • Are you experiencing frequent down time?
  • Are outrageous maintenance costs adding up?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, it's time to replace your old equipment and let the City of Palo Alto Utilities (CPAU) pay you.

Our goals are to help you reduce your utility bills by being more efficient on your energy use, and to help you reduce the production of greenhouse gases. To help you do this, CPAU is offering financial incentives to Palo Alto businesses for installing efficient equipment.

We want you to upgrade to more efficient equipment that will be better for your bottom line and the planet.

We're offering rebates on a range of eligible equipment for every kind of business, so you can choose from our menu of eligible technologies and add up your benefits. The rebate amounts depend on the technology you install.   Apply Before You Buy: To apply, fill out the main
Commercial Advantage Program Rebate Application and attach the appropriate catalog page(s) for the equipment for which you are requesting a rebate. Each application must be signed by the customer and contractor.

Overview

Eligibility Requirements: Your business must receive electric service from the CPAU. In order to receive a rebate, your application must be accepted before purchasing your equipment.

Program Duration: The program began on January 1, 2000 and runs until funds are expired. The CPAU reserves the right to make changes in this program. Changes will not affect the rebate levels of already accepted applications.

Project Requirements:
All equipment must be purchased and installed within six months of  application approval. The new equipment must be installed at the service (account) address in Palo Alto. Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until allocated funds for the program are spent. Rebates are only available for the replacement of older, inefficient equipment.

  • Due to the variability in quality (both lighting performance and life expectancy) of new technology lighting, rebates for these solid state or LED lights will be approved in the custom rebate (incentive based on actual proven savings) process only for lights that meet the following qualifications:
    • The product is approved and listed on the Energy Star Qualified Commercial LED Lighting List  and
    • The product is approved and listed on the Design Lights Consortium List (DLC List)or
    • If the product is not both approved and listed under either Energy Star or Design Lights Consortium, but falls under a category covered by one or the other, it will still be eligible for funding if is located on the Utility Qualified List . In order to get onto the Utility Qualified List, the vendor must submit the following test reports to the list's  website:  and
      • LM79 – This test report must come from a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL).
      • LM80 – This test report usually is performed by the manufacturer but can be performed by an NRTL (if available).
      • Insitu Report – This test report must come from an NRTL (if available).
    • All three reports must also be submitted to the City of Palo Alto Utilities with the customer rebate application

Rebate Payment Options: Rebates can be paid to the customer or the contractor. Please select who will receive the rebate check on your Commercial Advantage Program Rebate Application.

Qualifying Products, Specifications and Forms: There are a variety of efficiency measures that qualify for a Commercial Advantage Program rebates. The links are below. To find specific qualifying equipment and rebate levels, please see the catalog pages for each category. If you are unable to print out the forms, please call (650) 329-2241, and we will mail you a set.

Resources

Questions? For more information about the program or to receive an applications packet, call your account representative or (650) 329-2241.

Last Updated: Jun 23, 2015