An energy efficiency incentive program from Oncor can help small businesses brighten up their stores, upgrade their heating and cooling equipment and more – all at up to 70 percent of the cost.

Oncor’s Small Business Direct Install Program offers financial incentives for small businesses that want to replace outdated electrical devices like old lighting, antiquated HVAC systems and refrigeration, tune up existing HVAC equipment or install new smart thermostats.

“Working with approved service providers, we incentivize the installation of energy-efficient equipment at small businesses,” said Greg Kraemer, who oversees the program for Oncor. “By saving money on their equipment and their monthly energy bills, participating businesses can be more competitive and use those funds for other projects.”

To participate, small businesses must be located outside the DFW metro area (Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Denton and Rockwall counties) and have a peak demand of less than or equal to 200 kW in the past 12 months.

The Salvation Army store in Round Rock recently participated in the program to replace outdated fluorescent lights with new energy-efficient LED lights, Kraemer said.

An approved lighting contractor in Austin replaced the lights, a $38,000 project. Through the Small Business program, the project qualified for $19,000 in Oncor incentives that were received by the contractor, and were then passed on to the Salvation Army to help offset project costs. Plus, the energy efficient lighting upgrades can potentially result in savings for the Salvation Army’s monthly electric bill. 

“Our promise to the community has always been to do the most good for the most people who are most in need, and Oncor is helping us do that,” said Capt. Stephen Correira, Administrator, Salvation Army, Austin. “The new lighting has made our store here in Round Rock much brighter and much more beautiful.

“When you partner with Oncor, when you participate in a program such as this, it allows you to have the resources that will help you in other areas of your business or other areas of your program,” Correira said. “We could not do it without Oncor. We are truly blessed to be part of it.”

A participating small business is required to work with an approved service provider or contractor to receive the incentives, said Jean Perez, Manager, Energy Efficiency.

“Our incentives are based on the amount of energy that is saved,” Perez said. “The higher energy savings they achieve, the higher the incentive the service provider receives, which can then be passed onto the small business customer.”

She said the process begins with an energy assessment of a small business. The assessment, which is done by Oncor, the approved service provider, and the program implementer, ICF, can take from two hours to about a day.

Once the business signs a contract with the service provider, and dependent on size, the entire project can be completed in two weeks or less, Perez said.

“We look at all the current equipment and lighting and take photos of all of it,” Kraemer said. “We do that to calculate the amount of energy savings that comes from updating the older equipment.”

In an average year, about 171 small businesses, such as office buildings, retail stores, small restaurants and churches, participate in this program. The company has paid out over $10 million in incentives since the program was introduced in 2013 and has helped Oncor customers save over 55 million kilowatt hours.

Chris Rehor, the Salvation Army store manager in Round Rock, is a believer. “I had the experience of seeing half of the store with the new LED lighting and half with the old lighting,” Rehor said. “Attitudes changed. Everybody’s personalities brightened up.”

“The Oncor program was a great experience,” he said. “It was a very fast process. A very organized process. And I would definitely recommend it for other businesses.”

Find out more about the Small Business program by clicking here. Residential and commercial customers interested in participating in other Oncor energy efficiency offerings can visit https://www.oncor.com/takealoadofftexas/ to learn more.