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Get Paid to Reduce Your Energy Usage Through PG&E’s Base Interruptible Program

Picture of Brittney Gutierrez

Brittney Gutierrez

Climate & Energy Technician

If your public agency or business uses large amounts of electricity and has high energy bills, then make sure to check out Pacific Gas & Electric Corporation’s (PG&E) Base Interruptible Program (BIP). BIP pays large energy users to temporarily reduce their electricity consumption to a predetermined level during high-energy demand periods to reduce strain on the grid and the risk of a blackout or rolling brownouts.

Participants receive a monthly incentive payment, regardless of whether an event is called, based on their potential load reduction (PLR) amount. The PLR will be multiplied by the appropriate incentive level to determine the monthly incentive payment.

To learn about real-world earnings and benefits provided to a northern California program participant, click here.

BIP program managers work with participants to designate a maximum allowable demand they can operate during a demand event, which are issued when the California Independent System Operator issues a curtail notice.

Eligibility Requirements: 

  • Non-residential customers
  • At least 100 kW or higher maximum demand during the summer on-peak and winter on-peak periods (for at least one month over the previous 12 months)
  • Must be on a demand time-of-use (TOU) rate schedule
Base Interruptible Program's Incentive Payment Table

If your agency is interested in learning more about the Base Interruptible Program, please email us at snew@sierrabusiness.org.

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