Going green with SCE customer programs during the hot summer gives you cool savings
Earn Bill Credits for Conserving Energy
By Felix Hernandez
After record-breaking rainfall earlier this year, temperatures are heating up.
Southern California Edison encourages customers to sign up for a Demand Response program to go green and earn bill credits for conserving energy during the sizzling heat of summer.
Two popular options are the Summer Discount Plan and the Smart Energy Program . Customers can only be enrolled in one program at a time. These two options give customers flexibility and choice in comfort level and savings.
Summer Discount Plan
The Summer Discount Plan allows customers to earn up to $180 in bill credits when they sign up and take part from June 1 to October 1.
When a customer enrolls, SCE installs a remote-controlled device on or near their air-conditioning unit. This allows SCE to power off or cycle on and off the customer’s air conditioner during high demand energy events.
An energy event can happen at any time during the year and may last up to six hours per day, except for a systemwide emergency when it could last longer.
To enroll in the program, customers must have central air conditioning, be an SCE customer and either be the property owner or provide the landlord’s approval.
Smart Energy Program
The Smart Energy Program allows customers to receive up to $115 in bill credits, including a one-time $75 bill credit just for enrolling.
Once enrolled, no action is required by the customer. When SCE calls an energy event, the customer will be notified, and their smart thermostat will be temporarily adjusted.
The customer's temperat’re setting will be adjusted up to four degrees higher, cutting back on the amount of air conditioning used.
Typically, energy savings events will be called on hot summer days for one to four hours. During an emergency, events can be called for up to six hours a day. Multiple events can be called in a day but will not exceed six hours per day.
Customers can always readjust the temperature during energy events. However, manual adjustment of the home thermostat could affect the customer’s enrollment in the program.
Participating in the Smart Energy Program does not prevent customers from pre-cooling their homes in the hours leading up to the event. In fact, SCE encourages pre-cooling, which allows the inside of the home to stay comfortable throughout the energy savings event while minimizing the need to run the air conditioner.
Although enrollment for both programs is free, the Smart Energy Program requires the purchase of an eligible smart thermostat unless the customer already has one at home.
When a customer enrolls in one of these programs, they can receive notifications about an energy event in various ways. They can select if they would like to receive a mobile app alert , text message, email or phone call to be notified of a Demand Response event. This way, they can ensure that they can take full advantage of each program’s monetary incentives simply for reducing their air conditioning use.
Visit SCE’s Marketplace to save money on an energy-efficient air conditioner or a smart thermostat.
