Save Money & Energy with DCE
The easiest way to save money on your electricity bill is to reduce your energy usage! We’re here to help you with energy saving tips, resources, and rebates. Don’t forget that you can also opt-down to DCE’s Desert Saver plan to save and click here to learn about our COVID-19 Resources and to find out if you qualify for Financial Assistance. To get started, please click a button below if you are a residential or commercial customer.
Limited Time Offer for DCE Customers
We are excited to share that all DCE customers in Palm Springs qualify for a very special offer from OhmConnect -- a smart thermostat or two smart plugs for only $0.99! This is a limited time offer with no strings attached and is not a rebate. Click here to learn more and save energy & money today!
Energy Saving Tips To Save Money At Home
Heating, cooling and water heating account for more than half of your home’s energy costs. DCE can help you save money and energy while improving the comfort of your home and reducing your carbon footprint.
Choose energy-saving lighting
Replacing 5 of your home’s most frequently used lights with energy-efficient ENERGY STAR bulbs could save you $75 a year in energy costs.*
Install a programmable thermostat
Save an estimated 10 percent per year on heating and cooling costs by using a programmable thermostat.* Set your thermostat to 78 degrees in the warmer months.
Use sunlight to your advantage
Choose window treatments that allow you to use natural light while reducing heat loss and gain. Plant trees to create shade and cool your home.
Switch to ENERGY STAR rated products
Using ENERGY STAR certified appliances, fans and electronics throughout your home could save nearly $750 over the lifetime of the products.*
Use an electronic power strip
Help reduce phantom loads – and save up to $100 a year – by plugging electronic devices into a power strip and turn it off when not in use.*
Hire a professional to maintain your HVAC
Check and replace your air filters regularly (approximately every 3 months) and arrange for annual summer and winter maintenance with a qualified technician.
Reduce energy for water heating
Take simple steps – like lowering your water heater’s temperature and installing low-flow showerheads – to reduce your water heating bills.*
Get a home energy audit
Consult a home performance contractor to get a comprehensive audit of your whole and achieve large savings. You can also start with a Do-It-Yourself audit.
Power down between 4pm to 9pm
From 4 to 9pm, energy demand is high, and less wind & solar power is available. Turn off and unplug devices during these hours to ensure you’re using clean energy.
*Source: U.S. Department of Energy
Additional Resources:
City of Palm Springs – Sustainability & Recycling
Energy Upgrade California - Energy Efficient Home: Guide & Benefits
U.S. Department of Energy – Energy Saver Guide (available English & Spanish)
SoCal Gas Energy-Saving Tips and Tools
Southern California Edison – Energy Solutions for your Home
Desert Water Agency – Water Saving Tips
Flex Alert – Ways to Save Energy
Residential Rebates & Programs
Southern California Edison Rebates and Incentives
SoCal Gas Rebates & Incentives
Energy Savings Assistance Program (ESAP) for income-qualified customers through Southern California Edison will provide free appliances and installation of energy-efficient refrigerators, air conditioners, and more, as well as home efficiency solutions like weatherization that will help you save energy and money every day.
City of Palm Springs – Home Energy Assessment Rebate provides up to $100 for a Home Energy Assessment.
Residential Energy Efficiency Loan (REEL) Assistance Program is designed to help Californians save energy at home by making attractive financing more widely available for home energy efficiency improvements.
Multi-family Green Initiative The Fannie Mae Multifamily Green Initiative provides mortgage financing to apartment buildings and cooperatives to finance energy and water efficiency property improvements. They also serve the multifamily market by integrating sustainability considerations into our underwriting, asset management and securitization processes.
Solar & Energy Storage
DCE Net Energy Metering (NEM) program offers the same rates for your excess energy production as Southern California Edison (SCE). Customers who need energy beyond what their system can provide are able to go green with DCE’s Carbon Free plan or can choose to purchase energy at a lower cost than what you pay SCE with our Desert Saver plan.
Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) is a California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) program that offers rebates for installing energy storage technology in your home. These storage technologies include battery storage systems that can function in the event of a power outage.
Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) program provides financial incentives for installing photovoltaic solar energy systems on multifamily affordable housing. The program delivers clean power and credits on energy bills to affordable housing residents.
California Low-Income Weatherization Program supports owners and residents to lower utility costs, save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in multifamily properties.
Electric Vehicles
Federal Tax Credit is provided after the purchase of an EV. The tax credit ranges from $2,500-$7,500, depending on tax liability, battery capacity, and vehicle make/model.
California Clean Fuel Reward offered through SCE provides a point-of-sale incentive worth up to $1,500 on new EV purchases.
Clean Vehicle Assistance Program (CVAP) provides grants and affordable financing to help low-income Californians purchase a new or used hybrid or electric vehicle. Maximum household income must not exceed 400% of 2018 Federal Poverty Level. CVAP and CVRP incentives cannot be combined. For customers that qualify for both incentives, CVAP is a better option for purchasing a new or used EV.
Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP) promotes clean vehicle adoption in California by offering rebates of up to $7,000 for the purchase or lease of new, eligible zero-emission vehicles, including electric, plug-in hybrid electric and fuel cell vehicles.
Solar Water Heating
California Low-Income Weatherization Program supports owners and residents to lower utility costs, save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in multifamily properties.
Finance Your Clean Energy Project
Energy Saving Tips for Commercial Customers
There are plenty of ways to reduce your electricity bill, and most don’t require ongoing changes in behavior. By investing a little time and money upfront to adopt the following energy-conservation strategies, you can save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars every year. Here are six tips to help lower your energy bills and reduce maintenance costs:
- Perform an energy audit (click here). An energy audit is a comprehensive, professional assessment of your energy use that offers a clear roadmap to energy efficiency.
- Install energy-efficient lighting. Lighting upgrades are some of the quickest, most obvious, and most effective ways to save energy:
- Replace your inefficient light bulbs (i.e. halogen, incandescents) with LEDs.
- Replace your fluorescent tubes (T12s are a must-replace, T8s are a nice-to-replace) with tubular LEDs or new LED fixtures.
- Manage your HVAC equipment. A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system is one of the largest energy drains in any building, and one of the most fruitful sources of energy savings. The following measures can reduce your HVAC system’s energy use by up to 40%:
- Find and seal air leaks in your building to eliminate the loss of warm and/or cool air
- Install programmable thermostats to ensure that your HVAC system spends less energy regulating the temperature in your building when no one is around (i.e. at night and over the weekends).
- Schedule regular maintenance with an HVAC professional in the spring and fall of every year, at a minimum.
- Change air filters regularly—the key being if it looks dirty, change it.
- Activate power management features on your computer. To save $10-$100 per computer per year in electricity costs:
- Configure the settings on your computer and monitor(s) to initiate low-power sleep mode after 10-15 minutes of inactivity. This simple step saves a significant amount of energy, and has no downsides to speak of.
- Learn more about how to configure your computer’s settings.FYI: Low-power sleep mode “pauses” the current state of your computer and reverts to a minimum power state—just enough to retain the open data. When you click the mouse or push a button on the keyboard, the computer “resumes” its operations with the same open apps and files.
- Purchase energy-efficient appliances. Before you buy or lease new office equipment, check to see if they are ENERGY STAR® certified. An ENERGY STAR® appliance has been rigorously evaluated and determined to be energy-efficient.It used to be the case that ENERGY STAR® appliances cost more than standard appliances, but that is less true today. Thanks to the high demand for ENERGY STAR® products, appliance manufacturers have ramped up production and as a result their costs have gone down. In any case, even if an ENERGY STAR® appliance costs more than a conventional appliance upfront, the more efficient product will typically be cheaper over the long run due to utility bill savings, depending on the initial price difference.
- Prevent “phantom” energy. In the same way that leaky faucets waste water, many appliances consume electricity when they are turned “off”. This is what we refer to as a “phantom” energy load, and it inflates your electricity bill. To stop these energy leaks.
- Plug neighboring appliances into a power strip, and make a habit out of switching off those power strips at the end of each day. Of course, one or two “phantom” appliances might not draw much power, but a whole office of electronics does add up. In total, “phantom” energy loads can account for as much as 20% of your electricity bill.
Commercial Rebates & Programs
California State Emergency Program (CSEP) is a temporary program for 2021 that would provide incentives for large electric users to reduce their electric demand when called upon and allows customers to use their Prohibited Resources (aka Back Up Generators) to do so.
SCE Energy Savings Solutions for your Business
SoCal Gas Rebates & Incentives for Business
SoCal Gas Energy-Saving Programs
Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) provides guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to agricultural producers and rural small businesses to purchase or install renewable energy systems or make energy efficiency improvements.
Renewable Electricity Production Tax Credit (PTC) receive a corporate tax credit from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service eligible renewable technologies such as: Geothermal Electric, Wind (All), Biomass, Hydroelectric, Municipal Solid Waste, Landfill Gas, Tidal, Wave, and Ocean Thermal, Wind (Small), Hydroelectric (Small).