APS AC Rebate Going Away In 2018

APS AC Rebate Program Placed on Hold Effective 3-7-18

 

In a surprising twist of events APS Qualified Contractors and participants in APS’s AC Rebate Program received a message late Friday afternoon March 2nd, that effective March 7, 2018 no more rebates would be issued to APS customers who replaced their existing air conditioning and heating system with a new AC unit.

There was no warning to contractors or contracting associations that APS would take this action and it seems everyone, including all of us here at Magic Touch Mechanical, were surprised not only by the announcement, but the extremely short notice given.

 

UPDATE: APS has restored the AC Rebate (partially) as of August 2018. Contact a Magic Touch Mechanical representative to see if your home will qualify. 

This is not the first energy efficiency rebate program to be placed on hold or eliminated altogether for that matter by the utility company. Earlier this year, the company discontinued more than a few rebates that were popular with homeowners and encouraged home energy efficiency upgrades. Rebate programs that covered energy efficiency upgrades such as attic insulation, leaky home air sealing, and air duct sealing were also discontinued or had rebate amounts significantly reduced.

Other programs such as Home Performance with Energy Star, which encouraged home energy audits and improvements, had funds significantly reduced or removed, and are on the chopping block altogether. Only a few years ago, APS was one of the utility companies leading the nation in promoting these programs and were even awarded for that fact.

 

SRP Customers Not Affected – Rebate Programs Continue to Expand for SRP Customers

 

It seems the tables have turned, and another major Arizona utility company, SRP, who once seemed to lag behind APS with support of these programs has emerged as the new leader. SRP has not only become a leader in promoting energy efficiency upgrades, they have expanded their rebate programs in recent months.

An example of SRP’s notable support of promoting home energy efficiency was the announcement made in 2017 that the company was increasing AC Rebate amounts to as high as $800 per unit. During the same period APS was announcing decreased rebate amounts, the lowest of which was down to only $200, prior to this recent announcement it was placing the rebate on hold altogether.

 

APS Announces Significant Rate Changes and Increases

 

All this comes just months after APS announced it had recieved approval from the Arizona Corporation Commission to increase rates and change rate structures based on “the increased costs of producing power.” Using a model coined the “duck curve”, APS shared with a group of contractors a few months ago that there would be significant changes to their rate structure and what can only be labeled as a penalty rate for using power during certain hours. In a nutshell APS Customers will be charged using a rate factor based on their highest usage, not the average usage.

Based on what I witnessed and my years of experience in the home energy efficiency and air conditioning business, I’m afraid many APS customers are going to see startling increases in their power bills – especially those with less efficient air conditioners and homes.

 

APS Customers Should Get to Know Your Rate Plan and Change Your Lifestyle

 

Personally, I’m very happy that all of the properties I own are not only very energy efficient, but are also in SRP territory. I would advise all APS Customers to thoroughly review your utility bills and understand the recently announced changes to APS’s rate plans.

APS plans to encourage people to “Supercool” their homes. Meaning drop the temperature down and make your home very cold during certain hours, then shut your air conditioner off completely during the peak load hours and hope it maintains a comfortable temperature until the off-peak hours start again.

While Supercooling does indeed work for some homes that are extremely energy efficient and have extremely efficient air conditioning systems, this does not represent many homes – not to mention not everyone wants to (or can) freeze-out their pets and family half the day only to watch the temperature creep back up before being able to turn the air conditioner back on.

 

Stay Tuned Folks We’ll Be Right Back

Anyone who follows my blog knows I post updates as I become aware of them on all things home efficiency – especially those that affect us here in the greater Phoenix area. Be sure to bookmark this page and as a reminder; if you use our blog search tool like you would Google, you’ll find articles on all the different rebate programs, home energy efficiency tips, etc.

 

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APS AC REBATE GOING AWAY IN 2018