LES Offers $1.5 Million Of Incentives Through Sustainable Energy Program

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 4, 2022

Nebraska public power utility Lincoln Electric System (LES) is offering $1.5 million of new financial incentives this year for customers through its sustainable energy program.

Since 2009, the program has offered financial incentives to remove barriers for LES customers to use energy-efficient equipment, allowing them to save more and take a more active role in helping manage electricity demand for the entire service area.

Since the program’s inception, LES customers have accessed nearly $28 million in program incentives and spent $220 million on energy-efficient equipment and/or services.

“In total, energy efficiency projects that received SEP incentives have cumulatively saved more than 800,000 net megawatt-hours, or the equivalent annual electric use of 80,000 single-family homes,” said Marc Shkolnick, LES manager of Energy Services.

This year’s program offers incentives for: 

• Residential and commercial heat pump water heater incentive of $500 to encourage customers to consider switching from conventional electric tank storage to a system that uses the ambient heat of indoor air to heat water efficiently. A federal tax credit of $300 for qualifying equipment is also available.
• High-efficiency heat pumps and air conditioners with incentives ranging from $200 to $1,500 for qualifying equipment. A federal tax credit of $300 for qualifying equipment is also available.
• Whole-house and facility sealing and insulation. Customers in existing homes and facilities with no wall and/or minimal attic insulation can qualify for as much as $1,000 for sealing and upgrading insulation levels to code. A federal tax credit of up to $500 is also available for qualifying installations.
• Commercial interior lighting to replace existing fluorescent or metal halide lighting with LEDs.
• Commercial and industrial customers can get as much as $100,000 in total incentives per year for achieving peak-demand savings through air conditioner/heat pump replacement, first-time installation of variable frequency drives, compressed air system upgrade, energy management systems installation, optimization, or upgrade, and refrigeration system retrofit.

Additional information about the program is available here.