SGIP California: Customers Must Act Now to Secure Maximum Energy Storage Rebates

For business and property owners in the state of California, battery energy storage is a strategic tool for managing operational costs and increasing resilience. Costly time-of-use utility charges can be avoided by using stored energy to power loads during peak periods, when the cost of electricity is highest. And when outages strike due to public safety power shutoffs and other grid disruptions, battery backups are a lifeline that keeps essential business operations online.

The Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) has helped many energy storage owners across California save up to 35% on system costs, but time is running out for those who have not yet taken advantage of the rebate. Here’s where the program stands now in 2022, and how you can benefit from its savings while they still last.

SGIP 2022: Dwindling Funds Stoke Urgency

Available SGIP funds are rapidly dwindling for the Large-Scale Storage budget category, which most commercial storage customers fall within. Funds allocated to the Southern California Edison (SCE) utility territory are effectively gone, with only $1.73 million remaining as of this writing. That’s enough for fewer than 10 additional qualified systems, depending on their size. The program for SCE is set to enter its fifth and likely final step but it’s unclear exactly when. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is currently in its fourth step with $17.9 million available. Southern California Gas Company (SCG) and San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) are both still in their third program step, with around $12 million available between the two. With uncertainty around how long current SGIP funding will last, and when additional funds will be made available, it’s safe to say that time is of the essence to take advantage of the program.

NEM 3.0’S Role

Contributing to the urgency around SGIP in California are the potential changes to the state’s net metering policies. The California Public Utilities Commission has proposed slashing energy export rates with its proposed Net Energy Metering (NEM) 3.0 program, meaning that solar energy system owners may soon receive far lower utility bill credits in exchange for surplus electricity they send back to the grid. If your facility already has an onsite solar system, or is considering installing one, coupling it with battery storage will allow you to recoup the value of the electricity you generate. Instead of exporting surplus solar electricity to the grid at a reduced compensation rate, a facility can store the energy and use it to power loads in the evening hours when solar production tapers off and time-of-use utility rates peak.

How to Take Advantage of SGIP

Whether you’re interested in implementing a standalone storage system or layering one onto an existing onsite solar array, the way to take advantage of the rebates SGIP provides is by filing an application as soon as possible. When you choose PowerFlex as your storage provider, we handle the entire SGIP application process on your behalf. We have extensive experience in helping customers within the Large-Scale Storage budget category capture deep savings from $200K to $1 million depending on the size of the system. We support multiple financial models to provide you with the greatest flexibility in how you structure your energy storage project. Customers who choose to own their project outright through a cash purchase are rebated directly from the SGIP program once the money is distributed. For leased projects, PowerFlex factors the rebate into the monthly lease payments. No matter the financial arrangement, we ensure our customers receive the maximum amount of cost savings.

Ready to complete your SGIP application? Reach out to us for assistance, as well as for information on our full suite of renewable energy solutions, including solar, EV charging, and energy management systems, which work in concert with your storage system to turn your property into a clean-energy facility. Our ability to help clients realize their environmental sustainability goals as well as fulfill their financial and operational needs is why companies such as Amazon, Sysco, and Medline Industries have trusted us to develop and engineer renewable energy projects at locations across California. Contact us today at the link below.