Energy Efficiency Programs: Flood Rebates
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Alliant Energy increases energy-efficiency rebates to help flood-affected customers in Iowa Effective June 8, 2008, flood-affected homeowners, farmers and business owners in Iowa who are customers of Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL), an Alliant Energy company, may qualify for additional cash rebates on energy-efficient building materials and appliance purchases. Equipment rebates for affected customers will increase by 50 percent through the end of 2008. All equipment that currently qualifies for energy-efficiency cash rebates will qualify for increased flood rebates, except for compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).
Which customers qualify for the newly increased rebates? IPL customers in Iowa that were affected by floods may qualify for the newly increased energy-efficiency cash rebates. The increased rebates may only be used to replace or rebuild flood-affected property. Rebates are available to all customer classes, including residential, small business, commercial/industrial and agricultural (ag). How big is the rebate increase? For flood-affected customers in Iowa, IPL has increased the cash rebates by 50 percent on all, measures and appliances, except CFLs. For example, the refrigerator cash rebate for non-affected customers will remain at its original level of $50. The refrigerator rebate for flood-affected customers will rise to $75 - which is a 50 percent increase. How long will the increase last? The increased energy-efficiency cash rebates for flood-affected customers will be retroactive to June 8 and will extend until December 31, 2008. Will dealer spiffs be impacted by the rebate increase? Dealers will continue to receive an incentive for the sale of energy-efficient equipment determined by the standard base rebate, not the enhanced rebate. What measures qualify for the newly increased rebates? All measures that currently qualify for energy-efficiency cash rebates, excluding CFLs, have been increased by 50 percent for flood-affected customers of IPL in Iowa. All IPL customer categories (residential, small business, commercial/industrial and ag) in Iowa that were affected by floods may qualify. |
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Residential, nonresidential and agricultural prescriptive rebates |
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New rebate amount
Eligibility
Eligible measures
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Residential and nonresidential insulation rebate modifications |
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New rebate amount
Eligibility
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Custom rebates and Performance Contracting programs |
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New rebate ceiling
Eligibility
Commercial and industrial customers impacted by the flooding and making energy-efficient improvements should contact their account manager for assistance. In addition to cash rebates for business customers affected by the recent flooding, custom rebates may also be an option. Custom rebates are available for energy-saving projects that do not qualify for the standard equipment rebates. For complete details on rebates available for energy saving products call 1-800-723-7635 or visit the website at alliantenergy.com/rebates. |
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Why is IPL increasing energy-efficiency cash rebates for flood-affected customers? IPL is committed to helping customers and communities rebuild. With historic flooding across much of the state, many customers have difficult and important spending decisions to make on energy, housing, transportation and other areas of their daily lives. IPL wants customers to make energy-efficient choices by selecting high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment, appliances and insulation that are best for them in the long term. The rebates from IPL can help customers impacted by flooding buy a more efficient appliance or heating and cooling unit for about the same price as a less efficient one - saving money in lower operating costs for years to come. Is there a new process when submitting claims? No. Continue to fill out the claim form completely, attach the invoice or receipt and submit via mail or fax. Additional documentation is required to identify the customer as a flood affected customer (see below). How does IPL define “flood affected customer”? How will IPL know to send a 50 percent higher rebate? With storms and flooding impacting nearly the entire state, IPL acknowledges there will potentially be a large number of customers whose homes and businesses were adversely affected by the storms and flooding. Anyone with damage to their home or business directly attributed to the storms and/or flooding is eligible. Customers can designate their status as a flood victim in one of three ways:
It sounds like there possibly might be some gray area in confirming some customers' flood status. To some extent, we will need to trust our customers in regards to their flood-affected status. Some cases will not be clear-cut. As always throughout the year, onsite verifications of equipment installations can occur in our customer's homes and businesses. IPL reserves the right to perform these inspections as noted in the terms and conditions on our claim forms. If a customer did not install equipment or falsely identified themselves as a flood victim, the necessary action can be taken to rectify the situation. Are there any rebates on building materials? Building materials are generally NOT eligible for rebates; the exceptions are eligible windows, doors and the insulation rebate. However, when insulating, only the insulation is eligible, not sheetrock, plywood or other materials. Have new types of rebates been added, or is this simply an increase in the rebate amount on current types of rebates? These increased rebates apply to existing measures only. The heating fuel type for most of Cedar Rapids is gas - does that mean most customers in Cedar Rapids will not be eligible for many of the rebates? Customers are eligible only if IPL provides the primary fuel for the equipment. For instance, residential electric customers are eligible for rebates on the following pieces of equipment: refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers, light fixtures, ceiling fans, central air conditioning, room air conditioners, windows (if their home is air conditioned) and electric water heaters. Electric only customers are not eligible for IPL rebates on natural gas furnaces, insulation or gas water heaters. In rare instances a customer may use an electric heat source for their home, in this case they are eligible for an insulation rebate. Will it take longer for customers to receive their rebates? IPL announced the increased rebates in an effort to be as responsive as possible to the devastation caused by the flooding; however, internal systems must be updated and tested prior to processing enhanced rebates. Additionally, IPL's claims processing group continues to operate out of a temporary location due to the flooding of IPL's Cedar Rapids general office, causing some modest delays in processing. Any additional delays in the processing of claims are expected to be minimal. Are residential customers required to have a home energy audit prior to installing insulation? IPL will continue to require a home energy audit prior to receiving an insulation rebate, however because many newer homes were impacted by the flooding, IPL will temporarily waive the requirement for the home to be at least 10 years old. A new audit is not required if an audit was completed on the home within the past three years. Business customers are not required to have an audit prior to installing insulation. Has the insulation rebate been increased? The insulation rebate will remain at 70 percent of the total cost of contract labor, equipment and material; however the maximum rebate amount has been increased as follows:
If you have any questions about the rebate change, you may contact Diane Hanson at (319) 551-8482, |
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