Presentation Title:
Rebate it Till you Make it: The BPS Plan that Pencils
Track A: Mastering Energy Management
Session A2: Utility Rebates
Day 2 - March 12, 2026Â 10:30 am
Speaker(s):
Abstract:
As Building Performance Standards (BPS) expand, the winning strategy is not just picking measures. It is financing a multi-year compliance and decarbonization roadmap at the lowest possible net cost. Ben Levine (Director at Touchstone IQ) will bring an implementation perspective that sits at the intersection of jurisdictions rolling out BPS requirements, utilities administering incentives, and owner-operators and facility teams delivering projects on real-world timelines and budgets. Touchstone IQ works with cities and states, including the City of Seattle, implementing benchmarking and BPS programs and supports owners and operators navigating compliance, data quality, and project planning, giving Ben a cross-stakeholder view of what it takes to advance projects from early scoping through approval, delivery, and verified outcomes, including how to integrate utility rebates and incentives to improve project economics and accelerate timelines.
Using the Pacific Northwest as a grounding example, Ben will share how incentives from Puget Sound Energy, Seattle City Light, and Energy Trust of Oregon (alongside grants and early-adopter funding) can materially reduce net project cost and accelerate delivery when they are integrated into compliance planning from day one, rather than treated as a last-step rebate. From that perspective, Ben will offer practical guidance on selecting the right incentive approach for different project types, sequencing audits and planning activities so they unlock funding and avoid rework, and building a clear incentive-stacking and documentation workflow that reduces delays, rejections, and stranded savings. Attendees will leave with a simple sequencing workflow they can apply immediately, plus a clear view of how the same approach scales beyond the PNW to other utility territories and national portfolios, whether the driver is BPS compliance or broader energy management and decarbonization goals.