Last Updated: 10/15/2026
The California Foodservice Instant Rebates Program allows Participants to offer rebates as a discount at the point of sale for sales of qualifying, high-efficiency equipment to be installed at eligible customers’ facilities. Program objectives include:
These Terms & Conditions apply to participants in the California Foodservice Instant Rebates program (the “Program”). Participation is subject to these Terms & Conditions, the current Qualifying Product List (QPL), the Program Process Guide, and Applicable Program Requirements.
If you have any questions or concerns about the Program, please contact the Program Implementer. If your matter is not resolved, the Program Implementer may refer you directly to the applicable Program Administrator, or you may request that the matter be escalated to the Program Administrator. Program Implementer contacts for each program are listed in the Program Appendices.
The “Program Administrator(s)” are one or more entities, commonly electric or natural gas utilities or energy efficiency program administrators, that sponsors the Program and holds a contractual agreement with the Program Implementer to manage and implement the Program. A Program may have one or more Program Administrators and will be identified in the Program Appendices for each Program. Program Administrators commonly define the formal program requirements in collaboration with the Program Implementer.
The California Foodservice Instant Rebates Program is funded by California utility customers, and such funds are collected under the supervision of the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”). The program is administered by SoCalGas on behalf of Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), Southern California Edison Company (SCE) and San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E), (together the California investor-owned utilities or “CA IOUs”) under the auspices of the CPUC.
The “Program Implementer” is Cohen Ventures, Inc. DBA Energy Solutions. The Program Implementer is responsible for managing and carrying out the Program on behalf of the Program Administrator(s).
A “Participant” is an entity that sells Qualifying Equipment (as defined below) to Eligible Customers (as defined below) or to contractors or other buyers servicing Eligible Customers. Under certain circumstances, as determined by the Program Implementer, a manufacturer, distributor, contractor, or other entity may serve as a Participant, if their participation allows for a more streamlined transaction in consultation with the other market actors in the distribution chain. Participants are required to provide enrollment documents including, but not limited to, executing the Participation Agreement.
An “Eligible Customer Facility” is the installation site that receives natural gas and/or electric service from a Program Administrator. Eligible Customer Facility types typically include offices, hotels/motels, restaurants, labs, grocery, institutions, retail and other commercial buildings.
Qualifying Equipment (defined below) must be installed in an Eligible Customer Facility to be eligible for incentives.
An “Eligible Customer” is a non-residential customer who receives natural gas and/or electric service from a California Investor-Owned Utility (IOU) at an Eligible Customer Facility. Some programs require Participants to verify Eligible Customers prior to offering a rebate. For the California Foodservice Instant Rebates Program, Eligible Customers will be verified through the use of a ZIP Code lookup tool provided to Qualified Participants upon enrollment. Refer to the Program Process Guide for detailed guidance.
The Program utilizes a paperless, online system for entering, processing, and tracking Incentive Claims (the “Online Incentive Platform”). The Online Incentive Platform is hosted by Program Implementer and accessible at the Program Online Incentive Platform URL (provided in Program Appendices). Upon enrollment in the Program, Program Implementer will provide Participant with a unique log-in ID to the Online Incentive Platform and Program-supported training on the use of the Online Incentive Platform. Participant must request a unique log-in ID for each person that accesses the Online Incentive Platform. Participant must make specific log-in ID deactivation requests as appropriate. Additional log-in IDs may be requested by email by the Management, Sales, or Processing Contacts.
“Qualifying Equipment” is new high-efficiency equipment that is sold to an Eligible Customer within the Program Term and installed at an Eligible Customer Facility. Qualifying Equipment should be sold with the intent to be installed at an Eligible Customer Facility. Equipment sold as stock or to be warehoused is not Qualifying Equipment.
Qualifying Equipment must meet or exceed the Program specifications and be listed on the applicable Program qualifying products list. Under each Program, specific incentive amounts are provided for different types of Qualifying Equipment. Program specifications and incentive amounts are defined by the Program Administrator(s) and Program Implementor and published on the Program qualifying products list (“QPL” or “Program QPL”) and the Online Incentive Platform. To be listed as Qualifying Equipment on the QPL, equipment must be found on approved equipment lists (“Source Product List”). Each Qualifying Equipment refers to a specific make and model pair, and each installation of a piece of Qualifying Equipment would be evaluated independently from any other incentive claims. Qualifying Equipment for the California Foodservice Instant Rebates Program is defined by the California Energy Wise Source Product list. The Program QPL is available for download at https://fs.californiainstantrebates.com/qpl/ and is updated regularly.
If differences exist between Source Product Lists, Program QPLs and supply chain marketing materials, the data in the Program QPLs will control. Program Administrator and Program Implementer reserve the right to add or remove Qualifying Equipment from Program QPLs and organizations or sourcing protocols from the Source Product Lists during the Program Term (defined below). Program QPLs will be provided to Participants and updated on a regular basis.
“Incentive” means the payment or payments by the Program Implementer to a Participant for Qualified Equipment sold and installed according to the terms and conditions of the Participation Agreement. Incentives typically include a customer rebate amount and a Participant stipend amount. Participant must inform contractors or other equipment buyers purchasing Qualified Equipment on behalf of an Eligible Customer that all the customer rebate amounts must be passed on to the Eligible Customer. Incentive amounts for Qualified Equipment are set forth in the QPL and Online Incentive Platform and may vary throughout the Program Term. At no point will an Incentive exceed the line-item equipment cost. Line-item equipment cost is established by the per unit cost of the equipment and the quantity sold with a prorated amount of the attributed tax and shipping and handling fees.
Upon enrollment, Participants will be provided with a “Program Process Guide” for each Program. Program Process Guides provide detailed instructions and requirements for submitting incentive claims. Additionally, Process Guides for each Program can be found at https://energy-solution.com/foodservice-programs/ and may be amended from time to time. Amendments shall be provided to the Participant once available.
Participant shall provide line-item accounting on invoice/sales documentation of customer rebates. All rebate line items must include quantity, per unit customer rebate, and total customer rebate amount. Additionally, all line items must include the Program Name. California Foodservice Instant Rebates Program line-item invoice documentation must include the words “CA” or “California” and “Instant Rebate.” Program Implementer reserves the right to define acceptable program attribution wording in invoice documentation.
Participants agree to display program marketing materials provided by the Program Implementer at point-of-purchase locations where customers frequent. The following guidelines for program promotions shall apply during the Program Term:
To receive the Incentives, Participants must confirm customer eligibility following the Program’s process guide, and upload required sales information to the Online Incentive Platform (“Incentive Claim”).
Additional information regarding the Program and information required to submit an Incentive Claim are set forth in Program Process Guides. The following installation, Qualifying Equipment, and sales information are examples of the type of information typically required to complete an Incentive Claim:
Upon request by Participant, Program Implementer may, at its sole discretion, allow Participant to provide the above information to Program Implementer, and Program Implementer may submit the Incentive Claim to the Online Incentive Platform on behalf of the Participant. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any such Incentive Claim shall be deemed submitted by Participant for all purposes. In no event shall Program Implementer be responsible or liable, and Participant retains and assumes all liability, for (i) any Incentive Claim that is not submitted in a timely manner, that is incomplete or that contains any inaccurate information, or that otherwise fails to meet Program eligibility criteria and is not approved; (ii) maintaining the confidentiality of Participant account passwords and any other private, confidential information provided by Participant to Program Implementer; or (iii) cooperation with verification activities such as providing supporting documentation to Program Implementer. Participant understands and agrees that there is no guarantee that any Incentive Claim submitted by Program Implementer on behalf of Participant will be approved or that Participant will receive an Incentive payment therefor under this Program.
The Participant shall be responsible for supplying accurate and complete information when submitting Incentive Claims either to the Program Implementer or via the Online Incentive Platform. Insufficient information may result in rejection of the Incentive Claim.
The following terms and conditions shall apply to every Incentive Claim that Participant submits or is submitted on Participant’s behalf, in connection with the Program.
The Participant certifies and warrants that all information on any Incentive Claim submitted by Participant or on the Participant’s behalf is submitted in good faith as true and correct in all material respects and that all Qualifying Equipment listed in any Incentive Claim will be new and sold to an Eligible Customer who will install the Qualifying Equipment at an Eligible Customer Facility. The Participant will take all appropriate and reasonable internal administrative steps to maintain trained staff on the Program and avoid duplicate entries of Incentive Claims that may be created due to current paperwork processes, personal organization of assigned administrative support, and potentially fraudulent activity.
The Participant acknowledges and understands that the Program has a limited budget. Incentive Claims will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until the Program Term has ended or until allocated funds are exhausted. First-come, first-served status will be determined by the date and time the Incentive Claim is submitted via the Online Incentive Platform. The Program Implementer, in its sole discretion, may implement a reservation system or incentive allocation or other framework to provide market confidence. The Program Implementer, in its sole discretion, may establish an annual end of year, end of Program Term, or other deadlines to govern submittal of Incentive Claims via the Online Incentive Platform. Participants will be provided with advanced notice of all Incentive Claim submittal deadlines and regular reminders to facilitate compliance.
Each piece of Qualifying Equipment is eligible for only one incentive or rebate payment per fuel type, through either this Program or any other energy efficiency incentive Program offered by the Program Administrator. For avoidance of doubt, if Participant receives Incentives for Qualifying Equipment under this Program, such Qualifying Equipment will not be eligible for an incentive or rebate payment under another program offered by the same Program Administrator. Incentive Claims that are deemed by Program Implementer to be duplicates will be subject to rejection for “double dipping”.
Participant understands and agrees that the Participation Agreement and the Program shall always be subject to changes or modifications by the regulatory or governmental body that oversees Program Administrator (“Regulatory/Governmental Body”) at its sole discretion. The governing Regulatory/Governmental Body for each Program shall be identified in the Program Appendix, as applicable. Participant understands and agrees that the Regulatory/Governmental Body may at any time commence an investigation or other regulatory proceeding in connection with the Programs and/or the Participation Agreement. Participant agrees to cooperate fully with any such investigation or proceeding.
Program Implementer and Program Administrator acknowledge the sensitive nature of certain data supplied by Participants. Any participant data provided by Participant to Program Administrators or Program Implementer as part of the Program may be used for the purpose of tracking and analyzing trends in sales of Qualifying Equipment over the course of the Program and in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the Program. The cumulative sales information of all Participants will be used to generate an overall report, which will act as the basis for determination of Program’s success. This report will be made available to the public. However, this report will not specify Participants by name nor contain any personally identifying information (PII) of any Eligible Customers.
Participant acknowledges and agrees that Program Administrators and Program Implementer have no duty of confidentiality with respect to any information submitted by Participant pursuant to its participation in the Program and that Program Administrators and Program Implementer may disclose such information to Regulatory/ Governmental Body. This Program is subject to oversight by the Regulatory/Governmental Body, which may wish to review any Program data that Program Administrators and Program Implementer receives. Neither Program Administrators nor Program Implementer will have any liability to Participant or any other party as result of any public disclosure of any data or other materials submitted by Participant pursuant to the Programs.
The Participant shall preserve all records of sales of Qualifying Equipment for which an Incentive was received from Program Implementer under this Program for a period of five (5) years, or as otherwise specified in the Program Appendix, after termination of the specific Program or the Participation Agreement, whichever is later. Program Implementer’s duly authorized representatives shall have the right to inspect and to reproduce any such accounts and records related to the Program including without limitation, records of equipment purchases, sales, or Incentives received. All of Participant’s financial statements, reports, records, and other documents shall properly reflect the true facts about all activities and transactions for which the Participant received an Incentive as a Program participant.
The installation of Qualifying Equipment will be subject to verification by the Program Administrator(s) or their agents, including Program Implementer. The Program Administrator(s) or their representative may randomly select a portion of Incentive Claims for verification. Verification will be performed per Program Administrators’ requirements on all Qualifying Equipment listed, or a select portion of the Qualifying Equipment listed, on selected Incentive Claims. The Program Administrator will verify that the Qualifying Equipment’s model numbers as listed in the Incentive Claim matches the equipment at the installation site. The Qualifying Equipment must be verified to be new and installed at the Eligible Customer Facility. If the Qualifying Equipment’s information found during field verification differ from what is listed in the Incentive Claim, the Incentive Claim may be rejected and the Participant will have the opportunity to amend the Incentive Claim with corrected information and resubmit the Incentive Claim for reconsideration. The Participant is responsible for submitting accurate and exact Eligible Customer addresses. Incorrect addresses may result in rejection of all the Incentive Claims at that location.
The Program Administrators are entitled to a prompt refund from Participant of any and all Incentives paid to Participant if (i) Participant fails to comply with all material terms of the Participation Agreement, (ii) Participant submits inaccurate or incomplete Incentive Claim information, or (iii) Qualifying Equipment for which the Incentives have been paid is returned by the Eligible Customer. Any refund of Incentives paid to Participant to which the Program Administrator becomes entitled will be deducted and offset as an adjustment from Participant’s future invoices. If the Program Administrator cannot offset the refund, then upon request by the Program Administrator, Participant shall promptly refund to the Program Administrator the Incentive amounts.