As energy costs soar and the demand on the electrical grid rises, the California Measured Savings for Summer Reliability (MSSR) program aims to significantly reduce peak energy usage by driving high-savings efficiency projects through lucrative, limited-time incentives. PEC’s goal is to help our customers secure the highest incentives possible through this program, offering long-term cost savings for you and immediate benefit to California’s electrical infrastructure.
About Your Expert
Reed Lehto; Director of Energy Program Management
Reed leads PEC’s energy efficiency incentive strategy from start to finish—partnering with sales teams to identify opportunities, securing and managing funding, ensuring precise documentation and compliance, and training new team members on best practices. He also maintains strong relationships with utility program administrators, enabling PEC clients to capture the maximum available incentives for their projects.
Before joining PEC, Reed managed utility energy efficiency program operations, giving him deep, first-hand insight into how incentive programs are structured, funded, and administered. This experience allows him to navigate complex program requirements with ease, ensuring PEC clients get the highest possible return on their energy efficiency investments.
Driven by the measurable impact of his work, Reed takes pride in helping facilities reduce energy consumption, lower costs, and support California utilities in meeting their conservation goals.
What is the MSSR Program?
From 2022 to 2024, California’s major utilities, including PG&E and SCE, offered a set of programs broadly known as the Market Access Program (MAP). These programs provided lucrative incentives for energy savings achieved during peak demand through a pay-for-performance model.
In the wake of MAP’s success, updated versions of the program, referred to broadly as Measured Savings for Summer Reliability, or MSSR, will be available through May of 2027.
Based on the same model of incentives for metered energy savings performance, MSSR is currently the best opportunity for PG&E, SCE, and MCE commercial customers to receive utility funding for LED lighting retrofits. (SDG&E should have a program coming online later in 2025).
Similar to the MAP process, PEC will work with your utility’s MSSR program team to estimate and reserve incentive funds based on our assessment and design of your lighting retrofit. Once the project is complete, performance will be measured through your smart meter over a 12-month measurement and verification (M&V) period, in which quarterly incentive performance payments will be made to PEC by the program.
As a benefit to our customers, PEC can offer up-front payment of the projected performance incentive to allow for the lowest net project cost possible.
What are the MSSR Program’s incentive rates?
MSSR projects are incentivized based on a metric called “Total System Benefit”, or TSB. TSB is calculated through a complex formula, but is essentially the product of Hourly kWh savings * Hourly Avoided Grid Costs * Measure Useful Life (the length of time an energy efficiency measure is deemed effective for).
TSB does not translate to a single, standard incentive rate. However, we are seeing roughly $0.08 – $0.12 per kWh saved for most projects, and up to $0.20 per kWh and higher for projects with significant savings occurring during peak hours.
MSSR incentive rates are complex to calculate and vary depending on the unique features of each project. The best way to calculate the incentives your project may qualify for is for PEC to audit your site and work with our program partners to provide a site-specific figure.
Example Scenario:
A warehouse LED retrofit that reduces 250,000 kWh annually could earn up to $25,000–$50,000 in MSSR incentives, depending on peak timing and design.
Who administers the MSSR program?
MAP is administered in partnership between in-house utility teams and third-party program implementers. These implementers then work with a roster of “Aggregators,” engineering firms that partner with customers and contractors to analyze project savings, facilitate project review and approval through utilities, and manage the project’s performance payments after installation.
As a meter-based savings program, MSSR is simple in concept, yet is composed of a complex array of stakeholders. PEC’s goal is to simplify this process for our customers and offer as seamless an experience as possible.
Here’s how our team at PEC can help streamline the process for you:
- Site Audit: We’ll perform a detailed assessment of your facility to determine the energy savings opportunity and light level improvements needed.
- Project Design: Ensure your project maximizes the eligible incentive amount.
- Incentive Reservation: Coordinate with program partners
- Project Installation: You focus on uptime, we manage implementation
- Performance Monitoring: PEC tracks savings and handles reporting
- Upfront Payment Available: Minimize your net project costs
What types of projects qualify under MSSR?
MSSR targets commercial projects with high potential for peak demand energy savings. These sectors include warehousing, large commercial spaces without significant refrigeration or process loads, big box stores, supermarkets, auto dealerships, and more.
Note that solar net-generating sites are not good candidates for MSSR. Generally, the program’s goal is to achieve a peak usage reduction of at least 5-10%.
While multiple measure types are eligible, PEC’s focus in the MSSR program is on lighting.
What are the MSSR program deadlines?
PG&E Projects must be installed by May 3rd, 2027 to meet the program’s M&V period end date of May 3rd 2028.
In other words, completing your project by 5/3/2027 allows time for the necessary 12-month M&V period to take place before the program closes. However, the program could close sooner if funding is exhausted.
SCE projects must be installed by October 31st, 2027.
| Utility | Install Deadline | M&V Completion Deadline | Notes |
| PG&E | May 3, 2027 | May 3, 2028 | May close early if funds run out |
| SCE | Oct 31, 2027 | Oct 31, 2028 | More flexible timing, but demand is high |
What are the 2025-2027 eligibility requirements for the MSSR Program?
Requirements will vary slightly by utility, but generally include:
- Customer must pay the Public Purpose Program surcharge as part of their electric bill.
- Site must have potential for at least 5-10% peak reduction through qualifying program measures.
- Must have at least 12 months of electric usage available.
- Installed measures cannot be incentivized by any other ratepayer-funded program.
- Target facility types are commercial facilities with predictable loads (such as warehouses and offices, large retail, etc.), and must be non-residential, non-industrial, and non-agricultural (though exceptions may be made on case-by-case basis).
- On-site solar, EV infrastructure additions, or other added electrical loads added during installation or the M&V phase may disqualify projects due to their impact on usage over the 12-month performance measurement period.
- Projects must be Title 24 compliant.
- Sites with existing solar or other on-site generation are not a good fit.
Act Now: Discuss Your Lighting Opporutnity with PEC
California’s regulatory changes, rising energy costs, and utility-backed financing options have created a rare, high-return window for LED lighting retrofits in commercial and industrial facilities. If you’re responsible for keeping your facility running efficiently, the time to act is now:
- Fluorescent bans are in effect – Maintenance teams can no longer replace burned-out fluorescent lamps, making LED upgrades the only viable long-term solution for consistent lighting performance.
- High energy costs mean high savings – California’s rates are among the highest in the country. LED retrofits deliver immediate, measurable reductions to operating expenses, boosting your P&L from day one.
- On-bill financing removes the cost barrier – Many major utilities offer 0% interest financing, allowing you to pay for your project directly on your utility bill. Your energy savings fund the investment—so there’s no increase to your monthly bill during the payback period.
Combine these market drivers with the lucrative MSSR incentives available today, and you have a unique opportunity to reduce operational costs, improve facility performance, and secure funding before programs close or budgets are exhausted.
Don’t wait—contact PEC today to schedule a no-cost site assessment and secure your share of available incentives while funding is still available.
