Atlantic City Electric Commercial & Industrial Energy Efficiency Program Financing FAQs

The Atlantic City Electric Energy-efficiency Programs provide access to low- or no-cost financing to promote easy and cost-effective access to energy-efficiency measures by Atlantic City Electric customers.

Atlantic City Electric has engaged NEIF to offer 0% interest rate financing to Atlantic City Electric customers who participate in its energy-efficiency programs according to program terms and eligibility.  NEIF or its lending partner is the lender and servicer of the loans. Atlantic City Electric provides funds to bring interest rates down from market rates to 0% to enable participation in its energy-efficiency programs. 

NEIF is a full-service, multi-state licensed consumer and commercial lender focused on program-driven financing plans for energy and resilience improvements.  NEIF works with a network of contractors, distributors, manufacturers, utilities and governments to promote affordability for upgrades that make businesses and homes resilient, energy-efficient, healthy and comfortable.  It is the nation’s only specialty energy-efficiency lender third-party certified as a B Corporation®.  Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability. NEIF is also a Home Improvement Expert Lender Partner of the U.S. Department of Energy.

1. The program is FREE for NEIF-Approved Contractors to offer to eligible Atlantic City Electric customers. There are no “dealer-fees.”
2. Financing covers 100% of your customer’s project costs, less applicable Atlantic City Electric energy-efficiency program rebates up to $75,000 for Direct Install program projects and up to $250,000 for all other projects.
3. Financing requires no money down.
4. Customer financing must be used in conjunction with Atlantic City Electric rebates/incentives.

All financing is made directly to your customer (the borrower) for qualifying work performed by a NEIF-Approved Contractor. NEIF-Approved Contractors are established companies of all sizes with a reputation for quality work and fair business practices.  There is no charge to become a NEIF-Approved Contractor. General qualifications are:

• Minimum 3 years in business (or relevant experience), history of financial stability, satisfactory insurance and your certification of a minimum $50,000 company net worth or compensating factors
• Satisfactory company, Better Business Bureau and personal credit (if required) histories
• Overall reputation for a high level of service and workmanship.

NEIF provides its services through a highly qualified group of contractors. In essence, contractors act as NEIF’s sales force and consider NEIF as their “outsourced finance manager.” If you are not currently a NEIF-Approved Contractor, please apply here. 

Through Atlantic City Electric’s energy-efficiency programs, special financing rates of 0% or are available to make projects more affordable for customers. 

Additionally, NEIF transforms financing from a contractor’s cumbersome afterthought to an integral part of the value proposition for energy-efficiency, renewable energy and resiliency projects.  NEIF makes commercial financing simple, fast, and accessible for its customers through a fully automated, user-friendly online portal that intakes projects and manages all aspects of the finance process.

1. Accelerate your cash flow! NEIF pays you quickly via Automated Clearing House electronic funds transfer (ACH) or check as soon as the job is done and approved by Atlantic City Electric.
2. Take away the sticker shock. Monthly payment options help your customers make a quick decision.
3. Close bigger projects. Increase the size and scope of projects by offering a monthly payment option.
4. Close more deals when you offer a monthly payment with every job bid.
5. Work with someone you can trust. Your association with NEIF means you are working with a Certified B Corp. NEIF meets the highest standards of social and environmental performance.

There is NO CHARGE to access the basic services of NEIF’s Commercial Energy Finance Division. NEIF-Approved Contractors can access the Commercial Finance Portal, provide an unlimited number of quotes to your customers, and track the progress of financing.

NEIF’s Commercial Finance Portal (the Portal) makes commercial financing simple, fast and accessible for trade allies, customers and program sponsors through an automated, user-friendly online platform that intakes projects and manages all aspects of the finance process.

The Portal provides instant finance quotes, pipeline management, reporting and other functionality. Create a finance proposal for your energy-efficiency, renewable energy or resiliency project in 2 minutes or less, and track your project through the financing process all the way to final funding.

Access the Portal at https://www.neifcommercial.org/home. Create an account on the home page and start entering projects today!

Don’t panic! Simply contact commercialfinance@neifund.org to schedule a FREE portal demo. A NEIF representative will be in touch with you shortly to put time on the calendar. Demos typically take 30 minutes or less. NEIF will demonstrate just how easy the Portal is to navigate from start to finish of the financing process.

Atlantic City Electric Energy-efficiency Financing is available for equipment that falls within eligible program terms.

No. Previously installed projects, aka 180-day look-back projects, are not eligible for 0% commercial financing through the Atlantic City Electric program. Customers must apply for/be approved for 0% financing prior to project completion.

If you are interested in financing a previously-installed project, ask NEIF about its market rate financing options (commercialfinance@neifund.org).

In some cases, NEIF will seek a personal guarantee (PG) for a loan. NEIF always requests a PG for applicants that are a closely held business or start-up (time in business ≤ 2 years), as well as applicants with insufficient business credit to secure approval. Personal guarantees do not have any significant effect on personal credit scores, so long as the business makes financing payments on time and fully satisfies the debt obligation.

When the project is complete, your customer (the borrower) will verify that the installation meets their expectations by signing a document or via a phone call [with NEIF], at which point the funds will be released to you either by an ACH or by mailing a check. Whether the funds will be released via ACH or check depends on the lending partner the project is placed with.

Once you are paid, the borrower will begin receiving bills for their monthly finance payments, which they will make directly to the lender.

NEIF provides 100% project financing for all elements of the qualifying energy-efficiency project covered by the Atlantic City Electric energy-efficiency program, including labor, shipping, sales tax and some other project costs (as determined eligible by Atlantic City Electric). NEIF will finance all projects costs, net of the applicable Atlantic City Electric rebate. 

No. Down Payments are not required for NEIF financing; however, they are allowed should a customer want to reduce the amount being financed. 

In most cases, there is no prepayment penalty. You can pay off commercial leases and equipment finance agreements after year 1.

NEIF does not provide counsel on tax issues, but encourages customers to talk to their tax advisor. Many energy-efficiency improvements are eligible for accelerated depreciation benefits through Federal Tax Law 179 and 179D.

Applications are credit-decisioned within 24-48 hours.  Customer is notified immediately of the credit decision on-screen and contractor can see the decision immediately in their contractor portal. 

Upon credit approval, the contractor uploads the estimate/proposal to NEIF.  Most applications require no further information from the customer, and loans docs are sent as soon as the contractor has uploaded to the contractor portal its contract or proposal showing qualifying improvements and the final amount to be financed. On occasion, NEIF may need to verify income and other information with the customer before NEIF issues final approval.  This typically happens same business day but could be impacted by customer and contractor response time.

Learn more about the programs and their respective parameters here.

NEIF would love to answer them! Please contact NEIF Commercial Energy Finance at (720) 724-7673 or email commercialfinance@neifund.org.