Clean Power Alliance (CPA) announced the expansion of Power Response, an innovative demand response program that provides incentives for residents, businesses and public sector entities to reduce energy usage during periods of high energy demand.
Last summer, an extended heat wave in California caused unprecedented high energy demand that threatened electricity outages across the state. The actions of communities, residents, and businesses to reduce electricity use during specific periods of time made the difference in keeping California powered.
Power Response provides programs specific to residents, property owners, and businesses in Southern California to help with summer readiness by alerting customers of an “energy saving event” when energy demand is high. When customers respond to those events, they get paid incentives, reduce the chance of service interruptions, and decrease the amount of harmful greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in our communities.
“Our Power Response program provides benefits to customers of all income levels who want to save money by conserving energy during peak energy usage periods,” said Joanne O’Neill, CPA’s Director of Customer Programs. “The program helps the many diverse communities within our service area ensure enough energy remains available when the electricity grid becomes stressed, especially during the hot summer months.”
The program now includes participation options for residential, commercial, and multifamily property customers to receive financial incentives for reducing their energy usage during periods of high energy demand. In 2022, CPA first launched the Smart Home pathway for residential customers who own eligible smart connected devices such as Nest and Ecobee smart thermostats, ChargePoint electric vehicle chargers, or SolarEdge and Sunnova home battery storage systems. Nearly 3,000 customers now participate in Smart Home.
Through the new Commercial Leaders pathway, CPA businesses and public sector customers can collaborate with CPA on a custom energy savings plan to conserve energy. Incentives for this pathway are based on monthly average kilowatt (kW) reduction and depend on the size of the business and the amount of energy conserved during energy-saving events.
The new Multifamily Community pathway provides residents and property owners smart thermostats and program-specific financial incentives for enrolling and participating in energy-saving events. Eligible properties receive $130 per installed device and an annual $30 participation incentive per enrolled device. Residents receive a newly installed smart thermostat, as well as an annual $40 participation incentive.
A fourth pathway called Power Response Home for customers who want to participate in energy and cost savings by manually adjusting their energy use will launch later this spring. Active participants will earn $2 for each kilowatt-hour (kWh) of energy saved during an energy-saving event.
Participation in the Power Response program provides a strategic opportunity to increase the reliability of the electrical grid and contribute to a more sustainable and resilient Southern California.
