California community choice aggregator Pioneer Community Energy announced the full territory launch of its Ice Energy program, a program created to lower the air conditioning costs for commercial businesses and help save customers money.
The Ice Energy program is offered exclusively by Pioneer and uses the Ice Bear™ technology.
The system attaches to existing air conditioners and significantly reduces energy costs by creating and storing ice when electricity rates are low and using this ice to cool buildings when electricity rates are most expensive.
“The Ice Bear program is yet another way Pioneer offers customers ways to save money,” said Pioneer Board Chair and Auburn City Councilmember Alice Dowdin Calvillo. “Shifting the electricity draw to off-peak times at lower off-peak rates dramatically reduces the cost of air conditioning. We are pleased to offer customers innovative solutions to reduce their electricity bills.”
Businesses can save up to $3,500 annually per Ice Bear, depending on the building’s operation, weather, cooling needs, and other factors. These savings calculations are based on the load profiles from other Ice Bear sites overlaid on to Pioneer Time-of-Use (TOU) tariffs.
Customers are not limited to a single Ice Bear™ unit since many businesses have multiple air conditioning units. For example, a building with 10 air conditioning units can receive 10 Ice Bears™, which in turn can save $35,000 per year.
Through the Pioneer – Ice Energy program, customers pay a one-time participation fee.
The participation fee is determined after the site assessment and based on the existing infrastructure of the property. The participation fee can be paid upfront or as monthly on-bill payment for three years. Ice Energy will install, own, and maintain the systems on the customer’s behalf, and the customer will receive 100 percent of the saving for 20 years.
Currently available state and federal incentives for this technology allow Ice Energy to offer these systems that enable customers to realize significant savings. Eligibility for this program will require a customer to remain a Pioneer customer.
The Pioneer – Ice Energy program is available to all commercial businesses in Pioneer territory, with residential customers phased into the program later in 2025.
