SCE Rebate program requires workaround for rural addresses
During the January Public Service Power Shutoffs, Southern California Edison encouraged customers to take advantage of their rebate programs. One program offers customers in high fire hazard areas up to $150 for the purchase of battery power packs, and $250 for generators. This reporter took them up on the offer and bought a 288-watt-hour battery pack, with a 100-watt solar panel, for $278, and applied for the rebate in late January.
However, the SCE rebate website refuses Idyllwild address. The site provides an email address for Enervee, the company administering the rebate program, and sends an automated response, citing a “much higher-than-usual volume of inquiries” after the January fires, and a “hope” that they would respond in 5-7 business days. After over a month, I reached out to an SCE representative to clarify the situation.
Jeff Monford, Senior Advisor for Corporate Communications for Edison International, said that traffic at the SCE Marketplace rebate program has “been brisk,” with demand increasing by “20 times,” but added that “things are leveling out.”
Monford explained that Enervee uses a USPS database to confirm addresses, and since Idyllwild does not receive home mail delivery, requests from our area are rejected. He said that Enervee is implementing a “bypass” or “workaround” for this issue and pointed out the toll-free phone number included in the emails from Enervee.
The Enervee operator explained the process for applying manually. You need to send an email to [email protected] (the address the automated responses come from.) The email should include the following:
Your service account number (the number on your bill that starts with an 8, not the customer number that starts with a 7)
Your first and last name
Your mailing address, with your service address in parenthesis if it is different
The name of the product you are requesting a rebate for
A copy of your receipt.
You will get an automated email saying your request will be processed in five to seven days, but the operator said that, because of the influx of orders, rebates are currently taking about eight weeks.
Explore the rebate program at SCE Marketplace: marketplace.sce.com/
Enervee rebate program: [email protected], 1-800-736-4777. When prompted, enter “0” to get to an operator more quickly.
