Business Rebates

The Business Rebates program provides commercial and industrial customers with cash incentives for making energy-saving choices. This comes in many forms including making energy efficient improvements or installing energy efficient equipment in their existing facilities or installing equipment that is above building codes at a newly constructed facility or one undergoing a major renovation.

  • Earn cash rebates for making high-efficiency improvements to your business facility
  • Engineering support
  • Save energy and money
  • Reduce operating costs
  • Signing up is quick and easy
small business owners behind a counter

Existing building rebates

Air compressors

Effective September 1, 2022

Compressed Air System Upgrades

Description Rebate
Compressed Air System Leak Repair $75 per leak repaired
High Efficiency Compressed Air Nozzles $20 per nozzle
Compressed Air Low Pressure Drop Filters $2 per connected hp
Compressed Air No-Loss Condensate Drains $75 per drain
VSD on Air Compressor ≤ 150 hp $45 per hp
Air Compressor with integrated VSD ≤ 150 hp $45 per hp
Increase storage on Load/Non-Load (L/NL) Systems $1 per gallon
Decrease Compressed Air Discharge Pressure $50 per psi reduction
Desiccant Compressed Air Dryer $2 per cfm

 

Chillers

  • Air-Cooled: $5 per ton
  • Water-Cooled: $3 per ton
  • Chilled Water Reset: 0 to 3,000 tons: $100 to $2,000 per unit

Custom projects

Equipment not covered in another category will be paid $0.03 per kWh saved (first year savings only) plus $100 per kW of peak demand reduced.

Energy improvements can take many shapes and forms, so if an energy improvement is not found in another category, it may fall into the “custom” rebate category. Eligible custom improvements include but are not limited to:

  • LED Lighting - UL-certified and either DLC or ENERGY STAR®
  • Compressed air systems
  • Exhaust ventilation
  • A/C Occupancy Sensors
  • Day Lighting Controls
  • Induction Lighting
  • Insulation
  • Energy Management Systems

Energy Audit

  • Earn back 25% of your energy audit cost
  • Maximum rebate of $3,000
  • Must qualify for another rebate category when applying

Business customers who’ve had an energy audit performed at their facility can earn a rebate to help offset the cost of the audit. After you’ve made qualifying, high-efficiency improvements to your facility, apply for our rebates to earn cash back on the audit and another rebate category.

LEED major renovations

Earn rebates from $2,000 to $10,000 based on LEED certification points.

If you’re renovating a property to meet LEED v4 certification standards, you may be eligible for cash rebates from $2,000 to $10,000. Rebates are based on points awarded under the LEED Energy & Atmosphere – Optimize Energy Performance, Advanced Energy Metering, and Demand Response categories and square footage of the building, per the chart below.

Energy & Atmosphere - Optimize Energy Efficiency Performance, Advanced Energy Metering, and Demand Response categories Less than 25,000 sq ft Greater than or qual to 25,000 sq ft
1 to 5 points $2,000 $4,000
6 to 10 points $2,500 $6,000
11 to 15 points $3,000 $8000
16+ points $3,500 $10,000

Energy & Atmosphere - Optimize Energy Efficiency Performance, Advanced Energy Metering, and Demand Response categories  

  • 1 to 5 points    
    • Less than 25,000 sq ft: $2,000    
    • Greater than or qual to 25,000 sq ft: $4,000
  • 6 to 10 points    
    • Less than 25,000 sq ft: $2,500    
    • Greater than or qual to 25,000 sq ft: $6,000
  • 11 to 15 points    
    • Less than 25,000 sq ft: $3,000    
    • Greater than or qual to 25,000 sq ft: $8000
  • 16+ points    
    • Less than 25,000 sq ft: $3,500    
    • Greater than or qual to 25,000 sq ft: $10,000

Lighting

Rebate amount: Ranging from $3 to $55 per bulb

Improving your business’s lighting is an easy way to save energy and earn rebates from our program. Business customers can earn anywhere from $3 to $55 per lighting fixture, depending on the type of bulb and efficiency. Improving lighting in some facilities can even help improve workforce productivity.

Motors

Motors: Open and TEFC: $2 per HP

Pumps

Pumps: 7.5 HP to 50 HP: $50 each to $300 each

VFDs

Rebate amount: $16 per hp (all sizes)

Variable frequency drives (VFDs) offer commercial and industrial customers better control of energy usage. Rather than the "all-on or all-off" approach used in more traditional motors and equipment, variable frequency drives only require the amount of energy necessary to run at the time, providing a more moderated use of power.

New building rebates

LEED new construction

Earn rebates from $2,000 to $10,000 based on LEED certification points.

If you’re building a new facility to meet LEED v4 or v4.1 for Building, Design, and Construction (BD+C) certification standards, you may be eligible for cash rebates from $2,000 to $10,000. Rebates are based on points awarded under the LEED Energy & Atmosphere – Optimize Energy Performance, Advanced Energy Metering, and Demand Response categories and square footage of the building, per the chart below.

Customer must provide a copy of the LEED certification documentation as approved by the Green Business Certification Inc. and managed by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Energy & Atmosphere - Optimize Energy Efficiency Performance, Advanced Energy Metering, and Demand Response categories Less than 25,000 sq ft Greater than or qual to 25,000 sq ft
1 to 5 points $2,000 $4,000
6 to 10 points $2,500 $6,000
11 to 15 points $3,000 $8,000
16+ points $3,500 $10,000

Energy & Atmosphere - Optimize Energy Efficiency Performance, Advanced Energy Metering, and Demand Response categories        

  • 1 to 5 points    
    • Less than 25,000 sq ft: $2,000    
    • Greater than or qual to 25,000 sq ft: $4,000
  • 6 to 10 points    
    • Less than 25,000 sq ft: $2,500    
    • Greater than or qual to 25,000 sq ft: $6,000
  • 11 to 15 points    
    • Less than 25,000 sq ft: $3,000    
    • Greater than or qual to 25,000 sq ft: $8,000
  • 16+ points    
    • Less than 25,000 sq ft: $3,500    
    • Greater than or qual to 25,000 sq ft: $10,000

New construction/Major renovation project

  • The incentive covers either a new construction project or a major renovation (e.g., building being repurposed, gutted – was a grocery store and converted to a fitness facility)
  • These incentives available within this category include lighting, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, or the building envelope (other energy efficiency actions taken beyond these may be evaluated as a Custom Rebate and submitted separately)
    • Applicant must complete and provide the results from the COMcheck-WEB™ tool, available from the DOE/EERE at https://energycode.pnl.gov/COMcheckWeb, with their application. There is a COMcheck-WEB™ tool for lighting separate from HVAC and building envelope.
  • The incentive amount will be $0.03 per kWh and $100 per kW of first-year savings as confirmed from the results of the COMcheck-WEB™ tool(s).
     

Engineering support

Walk through audit

Whether you already completed several energy efficiency related projects, have an ongoing list of projects targeted to complete, or have a goal to create a list, we are here to walk through your facility with you to discuss and identify potential areas of opportunity.

Review of project ideas and calculation

Performing energy savings calculations

Application support

Apply now

Be sure to have your account number and tax ID or social security number handy. Contractors, vendors and energy service companies may apply by phone.

Phone: 

Business Rebates success stories

people holding a large check at a presentation

Jefferson County Public Schools

JCPS completed major investment projects at eight of its schools, leading to improved lighting, reductions in operating costs, lower overall energy usage and a more comfortable learning environment for students.

More success stories

Business customers throughout our service territories have already earned more than $13 million in rebates.

Engineering Support

No matter where you are in your energy efficiency journey, LG&E and KU’s energy manager is available to assist you with engineering support throughout the process.

Our engineering support can include a walkthrough of your facility to help identify energy saving projects, review the scope of an energy efficient project that you have in mind, assist, or complete the savings calculations comparing existing or baseline equipment to the energy efficient option, or working with you to complete your LG&E and KU Business Rebates application form.

We are here to help you from ideation to calculations to determining the potential savings and business rebate amount.

Monetary Incentives

This program also offers incentives for one-for-one replacements of equipment and upgrades. If you have an energy efficiency project in mind and it is not listed as an incentive option within the one-to-one replacements, it may qualify as a custom rebate application. A preliminary application is required for any custom incentive project and will be evaluated by our team.

Eligibility

  • LG&E and KU commercial and industrial customers who are paying into the DSM mechanism are eligible to submit a Business Rebates application.
  • If an LG&E or KU industrial customer had previously opted out of the DSM mechanism and would like to opt-in, applications for rebates and completed projects may be submitted with a date after the DSM mechanism appears on the utility invoice. An industrial customer who opts-in to the DSM mechanism must remain for a minimum 3-year period.
  • LG&E gas-only customers are not eligible for this program.

FAQs

Frequently asked questions and additional information.

Helpful resources

Commercial contractors, vendors and ESCOs ENERGY STAR® Tips for Businesses

LG&E and KU Energy LLC reserves the right to revise program requirements and incentive levels at any time subject to approval of the Kentucky Public Service Commission. Incentives are subject to availability.