California SGIP Equity Resiliency

[ucmndd]

I've spent the last 48 hours trying to understand this program and while I think I've learned a lot, I'm still all sorts of confused about some stuff. Maybe you fine folk can help me.

In short, I've been planning to do Powerwalls in the next year or two, primarily for time shifting my solar generation once I get kicked off of PGE's EV-A plan and on to the far less favorable EV2-A. I wish I was paying more attention to all of those damn facebook ads telling me I could get "two free powerwalls!" instead of skimming over them as spam, because we're the model candidate for the Equity Resiliency program (high fire zone, electric well, medical baseline).

I'm clearly late to the party this year, as I understand the application period opened at the beginning of the month and PGE territory was fully subscribed 12 days later. So, I'm trying to determine the strategy I should employ to gain access to funds next year or beyond.

My main question I can't seem to get answered is how the wait list works. In short: I understand there is another $513M to be allocated to this program over the next 5 years (assuming the looming budget crater doesn't rob the piggy bank or something). If I submit an application this year on the wait list, do those waitlisted projects eventually get rolled over and funded by next year's allocations? Or is each year of the program a discrete event and everyone starts over?

Finally, are already installed systems eligible for consideration? i.e. if I installed a system this year out of pocket, could I apply for next year's funding after the fact?

Thanks all.

 

[jjrandorin]

I dont qualify for any of this unfortunately... but what I remember reading somewhere about SGIP was that there was a 12 month period after install that it could be applied for. After that 12 month period though, I think you are SOL.

I realize that is a decent amount of "I remember, and I am not sure" but thats what I remember reading on here. Wish I could help more, maybe someone else who is applying for it has more information.

I believe @RKCRLR might be applying under that program? Tagging him / her here in hopes they might have more info for you

 

[RKCRLR]

I got my application in prior to the PG&E 2020 SGIP Equity Resiliency budget being fully subscribed. I haven’t looked into how the future budgets will work (and hopefully I won’t need to) so I can’t comment on that. Some things I’ve learned after going through the process (so far):

1. Tesla is still learning about the Equity Resiliency program. I felt I was a trailblazer when I talked to them about it (they kept trying to tell me about the developer cap – there isn’t any for the Equity Resiliency incentives).
2. Tesla doesn’t understand how the SGIP process works (and they will tell you that – they constantly mention that they don’t guarantee you will receive the incentive). They just focus on the application process (and I found a few mistakes on their application in my behalf – and then it was kicked back for more information and clarification on the attestation).
3. The PG&E SGIP phone number doesn’t have an option to talk to a live person, just leave a message. I’ve left several messages but have never received a returned phone call. They do respond to emails but it takes them about 3 weeks.
4. I haven’t found a website that explains the process in layman’s terms. Your best bet is to download the latest version of the SGIP handbook (SGIP | Resources - 100+ pages) and try to understand it yourself.
5. My interpretation of the handbook is that the incentives are on a first come, first served basis. A lottery is held if they receive more applications in a single day than they have budget for. But their announcement about being fully subscribed implies they will have a lottery. So I really don’t know how it works (their Metrics page always shows a slight remaining budget that changes daily).
6. I think the waitlist is only for the current budget. The announcement says that the waitlist will be funded through attrition (applications that drop out for one reason or another) and will be opened up once the lottery process has been determined.

I did get the following in an automated response to my latest email:


The SGIP team is excited to announce Office Hours. This will be your chance to talk to someone live and and ask questions you might have regarding SGIP.

When: Every Thursday

Time: 3-4pm

Where: Cisco Webex Meetings


You may want to dial in.

 

[RKCRLR]

I got my reservation letter today so I'm assuming they didn't do a lottery yet. My guess is they will open up the waitlist once PG&E decides how they are going to do a lottery for the excess applications.

 

[ucmndd]

Thanks @RKCRLR!

 

[mortonch]

Thanks for the helpful information. It looks like more funding was allocated to the Equity Resiliency Program and should have become available on July 20, 2020 according to the program's July 7 announcement: SGIP |

My quandary is whether I should go through Tesla directly or use an installer. It looks like the installers run up the price to cover the full rebate plus more which probably means out of pocket expenses, but they know how to navigate the rebate process better than Tesla. if the program filled up in 12 days, it could already be exhausted by the time Tesla gets around to submitting application. Plus with Tesla, I could waste $100 if they can't get the application submitted before the funds run out.

ucmdd, did you go directly and were you successful?

RKCRLR, I presume you went directly. How long did it take to get to the right person at Tesla to submit the paperwork? Did you get automatically routed there after signing up to purchase on the website?

 

[RKCRLR]

^^^
I had to really dog Tesla but it was their first time through with the Residential Equity Resiliency incentives. I would hope they know more now.
I would call Tesla and talk to them. Make sure they understand you would be submitting for the Residential Equity Resiliency incentive. If they start talking about a developer cap then the person you are talking to is clueless. I'm pretty sure you would get your $99 deposit back if you make the deal contingent on getting the SGIP rebate but you are getting a late start. My understanding is you can back out anytime prior to the install.
The long pole for you will be getting through the design process to the point they can tell you what it is going to cost so the incentive form can be submitted.

 

[mortonch]

^^^
I had to really dog Tesla but it was their first time through with the Residential Equity Resiliency incentives. I would hope they know more now.
I would call Tesla and talk to them. Make sure they understand you would be submitting for the Residential Equity Resiliency incentive. If they start talking about a developer cap then the person you are talking to is clueless. I'm pretty sure you would get your $99 deposit back if you make the deal contingent on getting the SGIP rebate but you are getting a late start. My understanding is you can back out anytime prior to the install.
The long pole for you will be getting through the design process to the point they can tell you what it is going to cost so the incentive form can be submitted.

Ah. Got it. Thanks. Seems like the resellers have a big incentive to rush through these things to collect a big premium. I still have one from which I am waiting to hear back. I will ask to see how long their process takes since time is of the essence. Because of the pandemic, they don't do on-site quotes so I presume we will need to do a video call and walk them around. Thankfully the install here could not be more simple. Only complication might be an early 1980s main that needs to be replaced.

 

[ucmndd]

I ended up going with a local installer, just signed the contract a couple days ago. They are the same company that originally did my solar and have been great to work with ever since, so it seemed logical.

They were familiar with the equity resiliency program and were willing to write a contract contingent upon receiving a confirmed rebate reservation letter, which put my mind at ease over the whole thing.

Total cost is about $24k for 2 powerwalls including a main panel upgrade. Clearly more than Tesla but I don’t have to babysit them and net cost to me is zero assuming they don’t dawdle on the SGIP submission - so I’m pretty pleased.

 

[mortonch]

I ended up going with a local installer, just signed the contract a couple days ago. They are the same company that originally did my solar and have been great to work with ever since, so it seemed logical.

They were familiar with the equity resiliency program and were willing to write a contract contingent upon receiving a confirmed rebate reservation letter, which put my mind at ease over the whole thing.

Total cost is about $24k for 2 powerwalls including a main panel upgrade. Clearly more than Tesla but I don’t have to babysit them and net cost to me is zero assuming they don’t dawdle on the SGIP submission - so I’m pretty pleased.

Congratulations! Please do report back or PM me as you find out when you get approved. I contacted two local installers and they would only do powerwall with a solar install. Unfortunately we have an HOA so getting solar approved would take awhile if at all possible. Still waiting for Tesla to do my design and they went from saying a week from last Monday to now three weeks. I suspect the funds will be exhausted but we will catch it on the next cycle if so.

 

[SMAlset]

Congratulations! Please do report back or PM me as you find out when you get approved. I contacted two local installers and they would only do powerwall with a solar install. Unfortunately we have an HOA so getting solar approved would take awhile if at all possible. Still waiting for Tesla to do my design and they went from saying a week from last Monday to now three weeks. I suspect the funds will be exhausted but we will catch it on the next cycle if so.

See you listed as Palo Alto. We had friends that lived in Palo Alto and remember them saying the city had it's own utility company. If you don't have PG&E as your provider you won't qualify as being a customer of theirs, which is a requirement for any of the SGIP programs. You could still can qualify for the Federal ITC (investment tax credit) money through your tax return, although not sure if that only applies to purchased as opposed to leased equipment.

Your HOA cannot prohibit you from getting solar it's the law now. They can set up some requirements for you to follow like in maintaining them. Tesla has a department that will help with HOAs if you decide to move forward. Typically HOA have applications for "architectural changes" so I'd start by contacting your management company and go from there. For our application we needed to have our solar design plan in place and give info on the contractor and description of the work to be done along with photos of the area impacted. Our HOA has an architectural committee who in covid was doing things by email anyway so we got a quick approval once the application was submitted to our management company and routed to them.

If you are considering solar/PWs start the process now. This year the Federal ITC is at 26% but next year goes down from that and I believe next year is the last year for it. Solar install companies are super busy right now, especially in the Bay Area with the PG&E safety shutdowns looming and installations are booked out for months. Happened that way last year too when the ITC rate was 30% and dropping to 26% this year. So move on it if you can. Here's a link to PA's new solar customer website area: City of Palo Alto, CA - New The steps in permitting to PTO sound a lot like the process going through PG&E except I don't think the City offers any incentive programs. They do point you to the Federal ITC program.

 

[mortonch]

See you listed as Palo Alto. We had friends that lived in Palo Alto and remember them saying the city had it's own utility company. If you don't have PG&E as your provider you won't qualify as being a customer of theirs, which is a requirement for any of the SGIP programs. You could still can qualify for the Federal ITC (investment tax credit) money through your tax return, although not sure if that only applies to purchased as opposed to leased equipment.

Your HOA cannot prohibit you from getting solar it's the law now. They can set up some requirements for you to follow like in maintaining them. Tesla has a department that will help with HOAs if you decide to move forward. Typically HOA have applications for "architectural changes" so I'd start by contacting your management company and go from there. For our application we needed to have our solar design plan in place and give info on the contractor and description of the work to be done along with photos of the area impacted. Our HOA has an architectural committee who in covid was doing things by email anyway so we got a quick approval once the application was submitted to our management company and routed to them.

If you are considering solar/PWs start the process now. This year the Federal ITC is at 26% but next year goes down from that and I believe next year is the last year for it. Solar install companies are super busy right now, especially in the Bay Area with the PG&E safety shutdowns looming and installations are booked out for months. Happened that way last year too when the ITC rate was 30% and dropping to 26% this year. So move on it if you can.

Thanks for the feedback. This is for my mom in Paradise. She was lucky enough to have her house saved but across the driveway all were lost. The power there is quite unreliable. She isn't eligible for the tax benefits you mentioned unfortunately, just the SGIP Equity Resiliency program.

You are right about Palo Alto power. It is run by the city and expensive. They spend money on carbon credits and are phasing out natural gas, but yet we don't even have time-of-use metering. They installed a bollard protruding in my driveway to protect the gas meter after they decided to phase out gas. Makes no sense.

That is great to hear about HOAs. My mom isn't excited about solar and is finding excuses I suspect. She doesn't have very large bills so the Tesla tool said it would take a long time to break even, seemed like over 30 years. Just the mentions in this thread, Tesla helps a lot more than they advertise. I would never have expected any Tesla help with an HOA and limited help with SGIP.

 

[SMAlset]

Wow your mom was one of the lucky Paradise residents. Just horrible what happened to that area. Tesla (and I assume any other installer) will ask if your home is in an HOA and if so they won't install until the homeowner provides them with an approved application. We weren't sure how to fill out the portion with Tesla's info (like contractor license and liability insurance, etc) and so they had us send in our HOA application form to them and they filled out that portion for us. We then completed the rest and submitted it. They did have us submit a photo of the approval letter from the HOA for our contract file.

Surprising to hear about Palo Alto's utlities compared to when our friends lived there. Seem to recall them telling us the City's programs were designed to save residents a lot of money running their own services as opposed to sticking with PG&E, etc. I'm a natural gas cooktop person and would find it hard to move to a city that is going all electric. Our city has been making moves in that direction with new housing. While you don't want to see another San Bruno, at the other end you have examples like Paradise. Glad your mom was okay and she had a home to be in. Must have been frightening for both of you during that time. Good luck with whatever she ends up doing.

If your mom's power is intermittent I would think regardless of the break even point, she'll want to have some type of back up. Any house in that area, even if she moves, that has solar/battery will have it as a selling point. I've only lived through one shutdown so far and given what they've said about the future of them, I really don't want to live that way of not knowing if everything was going out (including heat, a/c, refrigerator). When we moved here we had frequent somewhat brief power outages due to car accident, squirrels, weather, but nothing like the wildfire shutdowns. With California going in and out of drought and even being in a valley with ridges on both sides, it's a big concern for us.

 

[Stevie Jewel]

I have also just entered into a contract for 3 powerwalls. I am a High Resiliency candidate. I chose a local installer as they manage the entire project and are most familiar with local code requirements. They are also a certified installer. Interestingly, they are using a subcontractor called yoursolarmate.com to manage the SGIP process. The contract is dependent upon me getting on the SGIP waiting list. I will lose only my $1K deposit if I, for some odd reason, cannot get on the list. There are several people in my area of the Santa Cruz Mountains who are in various stages of the SGIP process. Here is a link to the PG&E SGIP page for residences. Discover the Self-Generation Incentive Program for Residential Customers

 

[jf2go]

Following this thread. I just placed an order with the $100 deposit for 2 Powerwalls. I have been looking through the SGIP information, and we definitely qualify for Equity Resiliency - HFTD Zone 3 and Medical Baseline. I'm hoping Tesla has learned how to manage through this process. Tesla does install in my area, but strangely, I don't see them listed on the "SGIP List of Installers". I saw a sponsored post on my Facebook feed talking about "almost free" Powerwall, but their pricing is considerably higher than direct through Tesla. All things considered, I would rather purchase and install direct with Tesla, but if they can't perform on SGIP Equity Resiliency, I will look for a local certified installer.

 

[jva_7]

I got my reservation letter today so I'm assuming they didn't do a lottery yet. My guess is they will open up the waitlist once PG&E decides how they are going to do a lottery for the excess applications.

Hi RKCRLR,

I am checking if you got the Powerwalls installed by Tesla and also the full rebate?

Thanks.

 

[RKCRLR]

Hi RKCRLR,

I am checking if you got the Powerwalls installed by Tesla and also the full rebate?

Thanks.

Yes to both.

 

[MizzB]

I've spent the last 48 hours trying to understand this program and while I think I've learned a lot, I'm still all sorts of confused about some stuff. Maybe you fine folk can help me.

In short, I've been planning to do Powerwalls in the next year or two, primarily for time shifting my solar generation once I get kicked off of PGE's EV-A plan and on to the far less favorable EV2-A. I wish I was paying more attention to all of those damn facebook ads telling me I could get "two free powerwalls!" instead of skimming over them as spam, because we're the model candidate for the Equity Resiliency program (high fire zone, electric well, medical baseline).

I'm clearly late to the party this year, as I understand the application period opened at the beginning of the month and PGE territory was fully subscribed 12 days later. So, I'm trying to determine the strategy I should employ to gain access to funds next year or beyond.

My main question I can't seem to get answered is how the wait list works. In short: I understand there is another $513M to be allocated to this program over the next 5 years (assuming the looming budget crater doesn't rob the piggy bank or something). If I submit an application this year on the wait list, do those waitlisted projects eventually get rolled over and funded by next year's allocations? Or is each year of the program a discrete event and everyone starts over?

Finally, are already installed systems eligible for consideration? i.e. if I installed a system this year out of pocket, could I apply for next year's funding after the fact?

Thanks all.

I heard that due to Covid the time limitations for SGIP reservations has been extended. Forward your questions to your utility company SGIP department PA.

 

[ucmndd]

Bumping this thread with a close out as I finally received the email today with those magic words:

“Great news! We are delighted to let you know that this SGIP project has been approved for an incentive payment.”

Contract signed: August 2020
SGIP reservation confirmed: October 2020
Powerwalls delivered to installer: September 2021
Powerwalls installed by installer: Dec 2021
SGIP incentive claim form filed by installer: March 2022
SGIP incentive claim approved: June 2022

What a marathon. Hard to complain too much with the end result of two “free” powerwalls, but holy cow what a shitstorm of pandemic, supply chain problems, and government bureaucracy.

Hopefully the check doesn’t bounce.

 

[holeydonut]

Bumping this thread with a close out as I finally received the email today with those magic words:

“Great news! We are delighted to let you know that this SGIP project has been approved for an incentive payment.”

Contract signed: August 2020
SGIP reservation confirmed: October 2020
Powerwalls delivered to installer: September 2021
Powerwalls installed by installer: Dec 2021
SGIP incentive claim form filed by installer: March 2022
SGIP incentive claim approved: June 2022

What a marathon. Hard to complain too much with the end result of two “free” powerwalls, but holy cow what a shitstorm of pandemic, supply chain problems, and government bureaucracy.

Hopefully the check doesn’t bounce.

Congrats!!

I framed my check…

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07QQWCP3X?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title