REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on an Agreement for Services with CRMOrbit, Inc. dba energyOrbit for a Rebate Processing System for Silicon Valley Power
Report
COUNCIL PILLAR
Deliver and Enhance High Quality Efficient Services and Infrastructure
BACKGROUND
The City of Santa Clara's Electric Department, Silicon Valley Power (SVP), primarily relies on manual processes for rebate management, while most electric utilities in California are using a rebate processing tool to increase capacity. This lack of a rebate processing tool limits SVP's expansion and enhancement of its customer offerings.
California law mandates SVP to track and report on its use of public benefits funds for energy efficiency and low-income programs, as well as spending of funds received from the State of California for electric vehicles and chargers. SVP has largely used a combination of manual processes and third-party tools for tracking, and those methods do not scale easily with increased offerings or increased participation.
The Climate Action Plan states that the City's main strategies for achieving carbon reduction in buildings and energy is to "shift to electric fuels in new and existing buildings to achieve net-zero carbon buildings" and "improve energy efficiency." Customer programs can impact a customer's decision to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon. Using a tool that is capable of appropriately scaling to meet customer offerings and participation is an important step to improving participation.
Staff identified a rebate processing tool as a critical necessity to align with the goals of SVP, City Council, and our customers. This tool will streamline processing, enable paperless transactions, and ensure timely payment of customer rebates. It will also allow SVP to fulfill state reporting obligations more efficiently.
DISCUSSION
In August 2021, Turlock Irrigation District (TID) published a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a rebate management system. Throug...
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