Sustainable Energy Program
Rebates help LES residential and business customers install efficient heating, cooling, water heating, insulation and qualifying business equipment.
Această oportunitate este disponibilă momentan în limba engleză.
LES provides incentives for new energy-efficient equipment installed in its service territory. Residential and commercial projects have different equipment requirements and application rules.
For residential heating and cooling, qualifying air-source or mini-split heat pumps below 5.4 tons receive $1,000, and qualifying air conditioners below 5.4 tons receive $300. Geothermal heat pumps receive $1,000 at EER 15–17.99, $1,200 at EER 18–21.99, or $1,400 at EER 22 or above; a desuperheater, which recovers heat for water heating, adds $400. Commercial equipment below 5.4 tons has the same $1,000 heat-pump and $300 air-conditioner incentives. Commercial geothermal/water-source systems use the same EER amounts, but the EER 15–17.99 tier is only for California loops; ground loops need EER 18 or above. For larger commercial heating and cooling systems, email LES for an assessment under its commercial equipment schedule.
Qualifying heat pump water heaters receive $500. Insulation receives $0.50 per square foot of qualifying attic space or $0.80 per square foot of qualifying exterior frame wall space, with a maximum of $1,500 per building or household.
Commercial and industrial options include:
- Energy/building management systems: the lowest of 20% of the new system cost, $0.50 per square foot served or $50,000.
- Interior lighting occupancy/vacancy sensors: $10 per fixture with an embedded sensor or $15 per standalone sensor.
- Variable-speed air compressors: $50 per horsepower for 5–24.99 horsepower or $75 per horsepower for 25 horsepower and above. Cycling refrigerated air dryers receive $2 per standard cubic foot per minute. Other compressed-air improvements are assessed individually.
- Variable frequency drives, which adjust motor speed to demand: $50 per horsepower controlled.
- Qualifying electric Energy Star steam cookers, dishwashers or combination ovens: $800. Refrigeration improvements and other custom efficiency projects are assessed individually.
All incentives together for a measure cannot exceed 50% of qualifying equipment, materials and third-party purchase/installation labor costs after deducting contractor, distributor and manufacturer adjustments, discounts, reimbursements, rebates, incentives and gift certificates. There is also a $100,000 annual cap per customer for each measure category; LES may lift this cap at or after midyear if sufficient funds remain. One piece of equipment cannot receive incentives under multiple SEP measures without LES authorization.
The incentive normally appears as an LES credit on the installing contractor’s invoice. Direct customer applications and applications through a wholesaler are paid to the customer. Equipment must be installed and operational before reimbursement; processing may take up to four weeks. A W-9 is required before payment.
Eligibility
You must be an LES customer installing new qualifying equipment in the LES service territory in Nebraska. The measure guidelines cover non-mobile buildings. Heating/cooling can cover new or existing buildings, while insulation is for existing buildings only.
Heating and cooling systems must have an AHRI certificate, which documents the system’s certified efficiency, with installed model numbers matching the certificate. For air-source heat pumps and air conditioners below 5.4 tons, the equipment must have EER2/SEER2 ratings and either meet both EER2 12.0 and SEER2 15.2 or be inverter-driven/variable-capacity with manufacturer documentation. Systems with only older EER/SEER ratings do not qualify. These ratings measure cooling efficiency. Air conditioners paired with electric resistance heating are excluded; that heating must instead be paired with a new heat pump. Air conditioners paired with gas heating can qualify. A mechanical permit is required even if you install the equipment yourself.
Heat pump water heaters need an AHRI rating and a plumbing permit, even for self-installation. Tanks of 40–55 gallons need a Uniform Energy Factor (UEF, the efficiency rating) of at least 2.0; tanks over 55 gallons need at least 2.2.
For insulation, the attic must start at R-19 or below and finish at R-49 or above; exterior frame walls must start without insulation and finish at R-13 or above. R-values measure resistance to heat loss. The required final level must cover the entire attic or exterior frame wall area throughout the home or building. Only heated or cooled spaces qualify; basement concrete walls, garage walls and garage attics are excluded. Both a before and after blower-door test, which checks building air leakage, are required.
For miscellaneous commercial/industrial incentives, LES must expect reduced energy use and electricity demand during its summer peak: June–September, Monday–Friday, 2–8 p.m. Downsizing or removing equipment/processes is excluded. Supply the requested specifications and savings calculations.
- Management systems must monitor/control major building loads, provide automated control and be networked or centrally controlled. Only first installations or substantial upgrades/optimization in buildings at least five years old qualify. Lighting controls, minor tweaks/software updates, like-for-like replacements, standalone controller swaps and upgrades to existing fully networked/digital systems are excluded.
- Lighting controls must be indoors in buildings at least five years old. If controls already exist, LES must verify an improvement; like-for-like replacements do not qualify.
- Compressors must be non-portable and replace fixed-speed units with variable-speed models; refrigerated dryers must replace fixed-speed units with cycling models. These measures can cover new construction or existing buildings.
- Variable frequency drives must control variable-load motors such as pumps, fans or conveyors. Replacement of an existing drive is excluded. Speed must be automatically controlled unless LES authorizes otherwise. New and existing buildings qualify.
- Kitchen equipment must be electric and Energy Star listed. Dishwashers require electric building water heating and an electric booster heater if present. Stationary single-tank door, single-tank conveyor and multi-tank conveyor dishwashers qualify; under-counter and pot/pan/utensil models do not. Kitchen/refrigeration measures can cover new or existing buildings.
- Custom projects must be outside the other incentive categories and provide proof of significant energy savings/demand reduction; LES may request calculations. New or existing buildings qualify.
Products must comply with applicable safety, building and environmental codes, be UL-listed and follow manufacturer installation instructions where applicable. You or your contractor must properly dispose of or recycle project waste. LES may inspect before and after installation, and owns all associated environmental credits and benefits. False information can require reimbursement to be returned and expulsion from the program.
How to apply
- Statut
- se închide 31 dec. 2026
- Se deschide
- Se închide
- Condițiile sesiunii de finanțare
- First come, first served until funds are exhausted.[^c3]
- Measure-specific preapproval and 90-day/180-day submission rules apply.[^c11][^c14][^c16][^c26][^c27][^c24]
For residential heating/cooling and insulation, use the participating-contractor list on the program page, obtain quotes and sign your chosen quote. The contractor submits the qualifying project for you; LES confirms authorization by email and the contractor credits the incentive on your invoice. If you choose another contractor, email SEP@LES.com for application instructions. For heat pump water heaters, contact that same team for instructions.
Preapproval is mandatory before starting insulation work. For residential heating/cooling and heat pump water heaters, preapproval is mandatory before purchase or installation when the incentive exceeds $5,000. Otherwise submit the project within 90 days of the invoice date. Preapproval is still strongly advised to confirm eligibility and reserve limited funds.
For commercial heating/cooling and miscellaneous business equipment, email SEP@LES.com before purchase or installation with the address, timeline, desired incentive and equipment proposal/specifications. LES determines the incentive; notify LES that you will proceed so it can preauthorize the project. The commercial heating/cooling exception allows submission without preapproval only when all equipment is below 5.4 tons, the total incentive is $5,000 or less and the project is submitted within 90 days of the invoice date. Miscellaneous commercial equipment always requires preapproval.
Preapproved commercial heating/cooling and miscellaneous projects have 180 days from preauthorization to install the equipment and submit reimbursement. Email the invoice and W-9 to SEP@LES.com; LES may request other documents and conduct an inspection before payment. You can request extra time by email with a reason, but an extension is at LES’s discretion and is not guaranteed.
The 2026 intake is first come, first served through December 31 or until funds run out. The program page displays remaining LES funds and offers fresh customer application routes.