Bord Gáis Energy has appointed UrbanVolt as its preferred lighting supplier for its 30,000 commercial customers, in a three-year agreement that will see Irish SMEs get hooked up with cost-saving LED lighting.

With headquarters in Ireland and offices in the US, UrbanVolt said that it plans to invest €30m into the Irish SME sector over the coming 12 months.

Kevin Maughan, CEO of UrbanVolt, said: "Until now, access to funding and incentives for energy efficiency haven’t reached SMEs because, individually, their projects are not large enough to be attractive.

"Our new partnership with Bord Gáis Energy allows SME customers to gain immediate and significant energy savings with no capital investment. This new partnership model will transform the market and enable SMEs to dramatically reduce their energy costs without having to make any up-front investment."

John Cussen, category manager with Bord Gáis Energy, added: "We provide financial support to the customer that helps to fund the up-front cost of LED installations and UrbanVolt funds the cost of the lighting assets over five years -- only taking their payment from the savings generated.

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"It’s a true partnership model between the customer, the energy provider and the service provider. To demonstrate our commitment to the Irish SME sector, we are making this offer available to all SME businesses, not just our own customers."

The agreement entails UrbanVolt installing a full LED lighting retrofit solely at its cost, as well as taking care of all maintenance for five years.  In return, the customer shares the energy savings they generate during the period with UrbanVolt. The firm said that most customers see a 50%+ reduction in lighting energy costs, after UrbanVolt’s fee.