Applying to the USDA Rural Energy Savings Program Letter of Intent: Guidelines and Assistance

Transcription

1 Applying to the USDA Rural Energy Savings Program Letter of Intent: Guidelines and Assistance The U.S. Department of Agriculture s Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP) is offering approximately $100 million in zero-percent loans, available to rural electric cooperatives and other rural energy providers. These loans, issued under the purview of USDA's Rural Utilities Service (RUS), are to reinvest into the homes and business of rural utility members/customers to make cost-effective energy improvements. Participants will use the savings to repay the utility over a period of up to 10 years. To be considered for the initial round of RESP loans, utilities must submit a Letter of Intent to RUS by September 30, RUS will consider complete Letters of Intent as they are received, and will be reviewed by RUS for the following: a. Eligibility to participate in RESP in accordance with section C of the funding notice. b. Eligibility and feasibility of the project, including compliance with the purpose of RESP to help rural families and small businesses achieve cost savings by providing loans to consumers in any part of their service territory to implement durable cost-effective energy efficiency measures. c. The financial status of the applicant to determine the applicant's likelihood to complete the full application. Utilities that receive initial approval from RUS will have an additional 60 days to submit a full application. To help utilities submit RESP Letters of Intent, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) has assembled this guidance document. It contains: 1. The RUS-provided Sample Letter of Intent 2. Information to be included in the RESP Letter of Intent: A Breakdown of the Sample LOI 3. Attachments to accompany the RESP Letter of Intent (as specified by the RESP Notice of Funding Availability) EESI is available to provide free assistance to utilities on their RESP applications. (Note: EESI is supported by private grants and has no financial relationship with USDA.) Further, EESI provides free assistance to utilities to develop and implement on-bill financing programs. EESI s project team has extensive energy and utility expertise, as well as experience with USDA loan programs. Our experts have worked with rural on-bill financing programs across the country. Contact EESI John-Michael Cross jmcross@eesi.org Contact RUS Robert Coates Robert.Coates@wdc.usda.gov rural-energy-savings-program EESI th St NW, Suite 650 Washington, DC (202)

2 Sample RESP Letter of Intent Provided by the Rural Utilities Service [Date] Mr. Christopher A. McLean Assistant Administrator, Electric Program Rural Utilities Service 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Stop 1560 Washington, DC RE: Intent to Apply for a Rural Energy Savings Program Loan This letter confirms that [Name of the eligible entity] intends to seek a Rural Energy Savings Program loan from the Rural Utilities Service pursuant to the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Fiscal Year 2018 (FY2018) published in the Federal Register 83 FR on August 6, [Name of the eligible entity] hereby represents that it meets all the requirements as specified in the NOFA and herewith submits the mandatory information required to comply with the first step of the loan application process. [Name of the eligible entity] intends to submit a complete application on or before the due date specified in the NOFA for step-2 of the process and commits to diligently collaborate with the RUS General Field Representative to complete the application in a timely manner. [Name of the eligible entity] acknowledges that RUS may not consider our loan application complete (Step-2) if we fail to provide the information requested by RUS in its prescreening process (Step-1). Applicant s Profile and Point of Contact [Name of the eligible entity] is a [legal status of the entity (E.g., Corporation, LLC, Cooperative, etc.)] organized under the laws of [State or jurisdiction], on [date on which the entity was established] with its principal place of business located in [address]. The DUN and Bradstreet (D&B) DUNS number for [eligible entity] is [DUNS/Bradstreet number] and our tax identification number is [eligible entity s tax ID number]. [Name of the eligible entity] is [current or will be a new] RUS borrower. [Applicants that once were RUS borrowers please specify the date of the last transaction with RUS]. [Name of the eligible entity] serves [counties or areas served by the eligible entity], with population of [population of the area] 1. [Name of the eligible entity] has net assets in the amount of [amount of net assets value]. It is hereby affirmed that [Name of the eligible entity] has [specify if eligible entity has ever been in receivership or bankruptcy or is under a workout agreement over the last 10 years]. [Name of the eligible entity] holds operating reserves in the amount of [amount of operating reserves]. A copy of [Name of the eligible entity] balance sheet for the last 3 years is submitted with this letter of intent. [Name of eligible entity] intends to be the legal borrower or intends that the legal borrower will be a wholly owned and controlled subsidiary [specify which]. 1 The applicant will need to identify its service area by its service area map and identify whether it serves customers in all or part of the population within the town or city and/or county boundaries. See Attachments to Accompany the RESP Letter of Intent below for more information.

3 The point of contact during the application process will be [name of the point of contact], [position at the eligible entity], who has been duly authorized to carry out the necessary actions to complete the RESP loan application. [Name of the point of contact] can be contacted at [address, phone number, and address]. Additional information about [Name of the eligible entity] is available at [web site address]. Project Description [Name of the eligible entity] seeks an RESP loan in the amount of [specify the total loan amount] to carry out a relending program to implement energy efficiency measures to qualified consumers within [identify the eligible entity s service territory, (e.g., County)]. Proceeds from the RESP loan will be used to implement a [describe the nature and scope of the loan program to the qualified consumers] 2. [Name of the eligible entity] anticipates that the following staff [identify the credentials of each one of the staff members that will be working on the project] will be involved in the implementation of the relending program for energy efficiency. Lastly, [Name of the eligible entity] commits to immediately notify RUS in writing should we decide to withdraw from consideration for the RESP loan before submitting the complete application. Sincerely, [General Manager/ CEO of the eligible entity] Enclosures Please submit Letter of Intent via to: RESP@wdc.usda.gov All materials must be combined into one PDF file not to exceed 10 MB 2 Project description must not exceed 5 pages. See Attachments to Accompany the RESP Letter of Intent below for details.

4 1. Name of the applying entity: Information to be Included in RESP Letter of Intent A Breakdown of the Sample LOI 2. Legal status of the entity (e.g., Corporation, LLC, Cooperative, etc.): 3. The entity is organized under the laws of what state or jurisdiction? 4. Date the entity was established: 5. Primary address of entity: 6. DUN and Bradstreet (D&B) DUNS number: 7. Tax identification number: 8. Is the entity a current or past RUS borrower? If so, specify the date of the last transaction with RUS: 9. Website: 10. Counties or areas served by entity: 11. Population of the areas served: 12. Will the EE program serve the entity s entire service area? If not, name where the program will be available: 13. Amount of net assets value: 14. Amount of operating reserves: 15. Has the applicant ever been in receivership or bankruptcy or under a workout agreement over the last 10 years? 16. Total loan amount requested: 17. Does the applying entity intend to be the legal borrower, or will the legal borrower will be a wholly-owned and controlled subsidiary of the entity? 18. Who will be the applicant s point of contact to RUS? Provide job title, address, phone number, and address: 19. Name of individual signing the Letter of Intent (General Manager/ CEO preferred):

5 Attachments to Accompany the RESP Letter of Intent As Specified by the RESP Notice of Solicitation for Applications 1. A copy of the applying entity s balance sheet for the last 3 years. If applicable, the applicant must provide the balance sheet for the last 3 years of the entity or entities providing equity or security for the RESP loan together with an explanation of the legal relationship among the legal entities. 2. A map of the service territory 3. Project description. Describe the nature and scope of the energy efficiency loan program that will be supported by the RUS loan. In 5 pages or fewer, please provide: A. A description of the service to be provided to qualified consumers. B. Identity of the staff or contractors that will be implementing the energy upgrade program and their credentials. 3 C. Implementation Plan that briefly addresses: (1) The marketing strategy. (2) How the applicant will operate the relending process. On-bill financing programs, including tariff-based mechanisms, are eligible. (3) A schedule showing sources and uses of funds to implement the energy upgrade program. (4) A brief description of the processes, procedures, and capabilities to quantify and verify the reduction in energy consumption or decrease in the energy costs of the qualified consumers. D. A list of eligible energy efficiency measures that will be implemented. Eligible measures include lighting, building envelope upgrades, heating and air systems, beneficial electrification (cost-saving fuel switching), energy storage devices, water efficiency improvements, on- or off-grid renewable energy systems, and replacement of manufactured housing units provided that the package of measures is cost-effective to the program participant. 4. The applicant must provide evidence of its performance measures and indicators for the 5 complete years prior to the submission of the loan application if the total loan amount exceeds $5 million. Note: An applicant with an existing program in place by April 8, 2014, may describe the energy upgrade measures, its implementation plan and its measurement and verification system for the existing program in its Letter of Intent to expedite the application process. 3 Note: EESI interprets this question to mean which staff will administer or manage this program, as well a brief description of how the utility identifies and/or qualifies contractors to perform energy improvements (or plans for developing such a system).