California Air Resources Board

September 13th, 2023 Update on CVRP Case Evaluations:

Funds for CVRP are nearly exhausted and CVRP will not be receiving additional funding. Due to unprecedented application volume throughout 2023, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is unable to accept new case evaluation requests. The CVRP program administrator’s (The Center for Sustainable Energy) original decision to approve, cancel, or deny an application will be the final decision and cannot be appealed, and the applicant/consumer will not be eligible for a case evaluation by CARB. 

For case evaluations that have already been submitted, once program funds have been exhausted, CARB will stop processing case evaluations, regardless of their status. There is no right to administrative or judicial appeal.

What is a Case Evaluation?

A case evaluation is an evaluation made by California Air Resources Board (CARB) staff at the request of an applicant or potential applicant of CVRP who believes that the CVRP Terms and Conditions and/or the CVRP Implementation Manual were not adhered to during their application process.  During a case evaluation, California Air Resources Board (CARB) staff seek to determine whether or not the Center for Sustainable Energy’s (CSE) decision comports with the CVRP Terms and Conditions and the CVRP Implementation Manual. Case evaluations are initially conducted by CARB staff that support CVRP but are not involved in day-to-day decisions related to CVRP. Staff may elevate evaluations raising novel questions or precedential matters to independent reviewers in CARBʼs legal office or executive management as needed. In most cases, it is necessary for CARB staff to communicate with CSE regarding case evaluations to ensure technical and administrative accuracy, perform adequate review, clarify understanding of complex cases, and, when applicable, ensure that CSE is prepared to implement CARBʼs decision. CARB staff may also need to communicate with applicants/potential applicants regarding their case evaluation requests. Due to limited staffing resources, and the scope and complexity of some case evaluations, it may take several months for a case to be reviewed. All decisions are final. 

Case evaluation requests must set forth all facts that form the basis for a case evaluation. If the only basis for a case evaluation request is that the applicant/potential applicant disagrees with the policies set forth in the CVRP Terms and Conditions and/or the Implementation Manual, then there is no basis for a case evaluation request, the case evaluation will be closed, and CSEʼs original decision will stand. 

Background on Case Evaluation Submission

CVRP applicants whose rebate applications had been approved, cancelled, or denied by the program Administrator, CSE, were allowed to request a case evaluation within ten calendar days of the date of approval/cancellation/denial. Applicants/potential applicants who submitted case evaluation requests are advised to add the California Air Resources Board's email domain, @arb.ca.gov, to their safe senders list. Case evaluations should only have been submitted for cases where the applicant/potential applicant believes that the CVRP Terms and Conditions and/or the CVRP Implementation Manual were not adhered to by CSE. Exceptions to the policies will not be made.  

Examples of common reasons for cancellation/denial that exceptions will not be made for, include, but are not limited to: 

• Not responding to emails from CVRP staff, within the given timeframe, for any reason, including, but not limited to, medical issues, travel, family emergency, and financial hardship: applicant is responsible for checking email and adding the Administrator's email domain, @energycenter.org, to their safe senders list. 
• Not applying during the prescribed application window, for any reason, including, but not limited to, medical issues, travel, family emergency, financial hardship, not being aware of the existence of CVRP, and not being aware of the length of the application window. 
• Failing to submit all correct supporting documents within the given timeframe, for any reason, including, but not limited to, medical issues, travel, family emergency, and financial hardship.  

Case evaluation requests were required to be sent by mail, through a postal service, and not via e-mail. For security reasons, e-mailed case evaluation requests were not and will not be accepted. Please note that case evaluation requests must have been postmarked within ten calendar days of application approval/cancellation/denial. Neither your letter, nor any attachments or enclosures, will be returned to you.