Midstream, Prescriptive or Custom: Choosing the Right Lighting Incentive Route
Choosing the right route starts with understanding midstream vs prescriptive vs custom lighting incentives. A midstream discount reaches the customer through a participating distributor. Prescriptive incentives follow published measures and formulas, while custom incentives depend on project-specific savings calculations.
For distributors and ESCOs, these differences affect product selection, approval requirements and how the incentive appears in the quote. This guide explains which route fits your project and what to confirm before presenting the cost to your customer.
When do midstream lighting rebates fit your project?
Use midstream lighting rebates when eligible equipment receives a discount through a participating distributor. Standard Ontario lighting replacements follow this route through Instant Discounts. Elsewhere, check whether the program offers a published prescriptive measure or requires custom savings calculations. Confirm eligibility and approval requirements before including an incentive in your quote.
Midstream vs Prescriptive vs Custom Lighting Incentives
Two questions determine the route: how does the customer receive the incentive, and how is it calculated? Midstream describes the delivery channel. Prescriptive and custom describe the calculation approach.
These categories can overlap. A distributor discount can follow a published product schedule, and a prescriptive application can calculate payment from energy savings. Check the actual process before treating the labels as three interchangeable options.
Midstream: the discount comes through the distributor
With midstream lighting rebates, the participating distributor applies the eligible discount at purchase. Ontario buyers provide their business name and installation address at checkout without submitting a separate customer rebate application.
For the distributor, instant lighting discounts still involve administration. The Save on Energy program requirements require eligibility checks, sales records and a clearly identified invoice discount. Confirm the actual discount for the selected model before quoting, because the customer discount can vary by participating distributor.
Prescriptive: the project follows a published measure
Prescriptive lighting rebates follow an established measure and incentive formula. A per-fixture amount is common, but the calculation is not always based on quantity alone.
Ontario’s networked lighting controls measure illustrates the distinction: it sits within the prescriptive Retrofit measures but uses a kWh-based incentive. A savings-based payment therefore does not automatically mean the project belongs in the custom stream.
Custom: the calculation depends on the project
Custom lighting incentives address qualifying projects that do not fit the prescriptive stream. Ontario’s Retrofit program calculates custom incentives from verified electricity or peak-demand reductions, reflecting the facility’s operating conditions.
For an ESCO, the starting point is a defensible baseline: existing equipment, quantities, operating hours and proposed changes. Confirm the administrator’s calculation requirements before presenting an incentive amount. Custom does not automatically mean a larger payment or an approved project.
What changed recently
Ontario: standard lighting replacements use Instant Discounts
For standard Ontario fixture and lamp replacements, start with Save on Energy lighting incentives and the Instant Discounts route. The official program page lists eligible LED tubes, high bay and low bay fixtures, and other lighting products purchased through participating distributors.
Standard occupancy sensors and integrated controls moved to Instant Discounts on January 1, 2025. Networked lighting controls remain under Retrofit, so assess lighting controls incentives separately when the scope includes both replacement fixtures and a networked system.
The route also affects scheduling. Instant Discounts requires installation within 90 days of purchase and applies to existing buildings where less-efficient lighting previously existed. Retrofit requires pre-project approval before installation.
The current Retrofit measure list reflects changes effective June 30, 2026. Save on Energy schedules updates each spring and fall, so recheck the applicable measure when preparing a new quote.
United States: check the utility and the delivery route
US programs vary by utility, and many offer midstream options through participating distributors. BriteSwitch’s 2026 industry research reports more midstream offerings for fixtures with integrated controls and a shift toward watts-saved calculations within some prescriptive programs.
Use those findings as market context, not confirmation of eligibility. Check the serving utility’s current terms, or use DSIRE to find relevant programs before confirming requirements with the administrator. Record the utility, program name and date checked beside the incentive in your estimate.
Compare the three lighting incentive routes
Use this table to assign the work before quoting. It summarizes typical processes; the selected program’s terms determine the requirements.
Question | Midstream | Prescriptive | Custom |
Who applies? | Participating distributor handles program reporting; buyer supplies site details. | Eligible customer or permitted representative. | Eligible customer or permitted representative, with project calculations. |
When is it paid? | Customer receives the discount at purchase. | Typically after completion and approval of documentation. | After completion, review and approval under program terms. |
What evidence is needed? | Eligible products, quantities, installation location and sales records. | Measure requirements, equipment details, quantities and completion records. | Baseline equipment, operating conditions, proposed scope and savings calculations. |
Is pre-approval required? | Ontario Instant Discounts has no separate customer application. | Program-specific. Ontario Retrofit requires pre-project approval. | Ontario Retrofit requires pre-project approval before installation. |
What is the main risk? | Ineligible product or site, incorrect discount, or missed installation deadline. | Scope fails the measure requirements or required approval is missed. | Unsupported savings assumptions or scope changes affecting approval. |
Ontario’s Retrofit process and Instant Discounts requirements support these distinctions. BC Hydro’s application process also requires pre-approval and final documentation before payment, showing why a standard equipment replacement should not be assumed to receive an instant discount everywhere.
Which route fits which project
Start with the installation location and scope, then compare the available lighting rebate programs. Check which route accepts the proposed equipment and what must happen before work begins. Read about lighting rebate cash flow.
For standard Ontario lighting replacements, use Instant Discounts where the products and site qualify. For networked controls, assess Retrofit eligibility before installation. For complex work outside a published measure, ask the administrator whether a custom application is appropriate.
The process changes by location. BC Hydro lighting incentives require a registered Alliance member contractor and pre-approval under the Business Energy-Saving Incentives program. Payment follows completion and approval of the final documentation.
Two example decisions
Example (hypothetical): Ontario warehouse high bay swap
An ESCO proposes a one-for-one replacement of older, less-efficient warehouse high bays with eligible LED fixtures. The distributor confirms product and customer eligibility and the customer discount for the selected model.
The route is Save on Energy Instant Discounts. The discount is applied at purchase, and the equipment must be installed within 90 days. Check delivery and installation schedules before ordering so discounted equipment does not sit in storage beyond that deadline.
Show the discount separately from equipment and installation costs. Do not deduct it again from a price that already includes it.
Example (hypothetical): Ontario office adding networked lighting controls
An office already has LED fixtures. The proposed scope adds networked lighting controls to reduce unnecessary operating hours.
The route to assess is Save on Energy Retrofit, which retains a networked lighting controls measure. Follow the pre-project application and approval sequence before installation. Do not treat the system as a standard occupancy sensor purchase through Instant Discounts.
Record existing fixtures, operating hours and current controls before calculating incremental savings. If the proposal also replaces fixtures, separate the scopes and confirm the treatment of each measure with the administrator.
Route checklist before you prepare the quote
Use this checklist for each site:
Confirm the installation address, serving utility and eligible customer.
Identify the current program and record the date checked.
Separate fixture replacements, standard controls and networked controls.
Check exact product models, quantities and measure requirements.
Confirm the customer discount or incentive formula, including applicable limits.
Assign responsibility for eligibility checks, applications and completion records.
Confirm approval requirements and installation deadlines before scheduling work.
Check other incentives affecting the same equipment or savings.
Keep the answers with the estimate. An unresolved item should remain an explicit assumption in the proposal.
How to show the chosen route and its assumptions in the proposal
Name the program and distinguish a discount included in the purchase price from a rebate expected after completion. Show who receives the benefit and what conditions remain outstanding.
Proposal field | What to record |
Program and route | Program name, delivery route and date checked. |
Eligible scope | Fixture or controls lines included; exclusions. |
Incentive basis | Confirmed discount, published formula or preliminary custom calculation. |
Status and conditions | Approval status, outstanding checks and deadlines. |
Cost treatment | Whether the amount is already included in equipment pricing. |
Record the incentive in LumaQuote
Once you have confirmed the incentive route and amounts, enter them in LumaQuote’s Rebates step. Add the program name, assign a rebate amount to each fixture line, or apply the same per-fixture amount across all retrofitted fixtures.
LumaQuote shows the line totals and total rebate, and lets you choose whether rebates appear in the customer proposal. This connects the incentive amounts to the fixture quantities already used in the estimate.
For midstream purchases, check whether the supplier’s price already includes the discount before entering an additional deduction. For an application awaiting approval, explain that the proposed incentive remains conditional.
See the sample lighting retrofit proposal for the finished output.
FAQ
What is a midstream lighting rebate?
Midstream lighting rebates deliver the benefit through a participating distributor, typically as a discount when eligible equipment is purchased. The distributor handles program reporting while the buyer supplies required installation details. In Ontario, Instant Discounts still requires an eligible site and products, with installation within 90 days of purchase.
Does a custom incentive always pay more than a prescriptive rebate?
No. Custom describes how the project is assessed, not a promise of a higher payment. Under Ontario Retrofit, the calculation depends on verified energy or demand reductions and eligible cost limits. Compare the applicable formulas using the same project scope, and confirm that the custom route is available.
Can one lighting project use more than one incentive route?
Potentially, but separate measures do not automatically qualify for combined funding. Confirm each program’s rules before including both amounts. Ontario Instant Discounts prohibits other IESO or Ontario government incentives for the same eligible measures. Ask the administrator how fixture and controls scopes should be separated, and document that answer.
See how the incentive program and per-fixture amounts appear in a finished proposal: View a sample proposal
