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1. Who is eligible for the program?

To be eligible, you must be a Bay City Electric Light and Power customer. Specific Terms and Conditions apply to each individual program.

2. I own a business; can I participate in the programs that are offered to residents?

No. Commercial and industrial customers must participate in the business programs and residents must participate in the residential programs. Each customer type has a different surcharge that funds this program. If you are a commercial or industrial customer, the surcharge on your bill funds the business programs.

3. Do I qualify for incentives if my facility is served by the utility for electricity and I am served by another utility for natural gas?

The programs offered through Bay City Electric Light and Power will only pay incentives for measures that save energy served by the utility. However, a custom incentive can be paid by two utilities for the same measure if the measure saves both gas and electricity, but each utility will only base the incentive on the savings for the commodity they serve.

4. Can I participate in programs for the business I own and my home or do I have to choose one?

If you own both a home and a business you may participate in both the business and residential programs offered, as long as both the home and business received electrical services from the utility. All criteria for the individual programs must also be met.

5. Can I qualify for more than one incentive?

Yes, however each program has limits regarding how many individual incentives or total incentive dollars may be distributed per year. Please see the terms and conditions attached to the applications of each program or call 989-894-8350.

6. What is the availability of incentives?

Available funds are capped each year, so incentives will be offered until individual efficiency programs have reached their capacity. Once funds have been exhausted, the utility will create a waiting list to manage incentive requests and monitor funding availability as the filed projects are completed. Notification will be posted on the website as to when the annual program caps have been met. Those who have submitted incentive forms after the funding cycle has fully subscribed with ongoing projects may either receive an incentive the same year if funds become available, or delay their project and reapply for the following year's funding. However, since program rules and incentive levels may change from year to year, there is no guarantee that the project will be eligible under the following year guidelines. The utility will set limits in an effort to provide an equitable incentive to a wide cross-section of our customer base.

7. Who pays for the incentives?

Qualified customers will receive their incentive payment via a check from the utility. Under normal circumstances the customer should receive payment within 4 to 6 weeks of completion; however, there are times when payment is delayed.

8. May I get an incentive to change from an electric technology to a natural gas technology or vice versa?

No. Fuel-switching measures are not eligible for an incentive.

9. May I receive an incentive for installing on-site generation or a renewable energy system?

Currently, the Energy Smart program offers incentives for photo-voltaic arrays greater than 1 kW. For additional information please contact us at (989) 894-8350.

10. Can I receive an incentive for new construction as well an existing building?

Most of our programs require an existing structure to qualify for incentives. However, the Energy Smart Team has developed a Home Energy program which incentivizes new home builds. Homes can qualify for an incentive if it is independently rated as an ENERGY STAR® home. For additional information please contact us at (989) 894-8350.