‘Power Savers’ Program Offers $185 in Incentives as Customers Manage Energy Costs and Support Grid Reliability
LOS ANGELES (October 7, 2020) – About 14,000 customers are saving energy and supporting a cleaner, more reliable power grid while reducing their electricity costs this summer by enrolling their smart thermostats in a new energy management program offered by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the nation’s largest municipal utility.
LADWP Power Savers, which launched June 17 and runs through October, is an energy management program for residential and small business electric customers to help lower and manage their energy costs, while reducing strain on the power grid during periods of high energy demand. At the same time, the program supports LADWP’s Clean Grid LA initiative by providing a clean energy alternative to using natural gas “peaker” plants to maintain reliability when energy use spikes.
Through the program, customers allow LADWP to remotely raise their thermostat up to 4 degrees Fahrenheit for brief periods—known as demand response events– during the high-demand season. As an incentive, LADWP provides a $125 gift card per thermostat (up to two thermostats) to thank customers for enrolling. For every year of participation, LADWP will give customers a $60 gift card per thermostat (up to two thermostats) at the end of the season.
“Power Savers is truly a win-win program, one that benefits our customers while supporting a cleaner and more reliable power grid,” said Reiko Kerr, LADWP Senior Assistant General Manager, Power Engineering, Planning and Technical Services. “The program allows LADWP and our customers to work together to reduce the need for fossil fuel power while maintaining reliability during periods of extreme demand, such as we experienced during the recent heat waves.”
As of September 20, the program has enrolled13,982 residential customers, including 3,424 apartment dwellers, and small business customers with 16,240 smart thermostats that contribute to reducing LADWP’s peak demand. During the heat wave from August 14-21, seven separate demand response events were triggered by LADWP’s energy control center, which monitors and dispatches power on the grid. Power Savers participating customers offset the peak demand by an average of 9 megawatts (MW) for each DR event.
LADWP’s goal is to deploy enough smart thermostats to achieve 25 MW of flexible power capacity from 36,000 residential and small business customers’ air conditioners by the end of the 2021 high demand summer season.
The program is made possible through an agreement with EnergyHub, Inc., the company which provides the technology to harness power from customers’ wi-fi enabled thermostats that control HVAC systems throughout the city. By targeting residential and small business customers, Power Savers also complements LADWP’s long-standing demand response program for large commercial and industrial customers.
The Power Savers program is open to residential and small business customers who have an eligible smart thermostat connected to a central air conditioning unit. LADWP is working to promote the program to residents throughout Los Angeles to achieve more energy savings and benefit as many customers as possible. For those who don’t already own a smart thermostat, LADWP has rebates for several qualifying thermostats and related rebates available in through the LADWP Efficient Product Marketplace at marketplace.ladwp.com.
To enroll in Power Savers, visit enrollmythermostat.com/ladwp.
For large commercial customers, LADWP continues to offer its traditional demand-response program. Participating customers receive financial incentives for reducing their energy use when notified of an event. Customers sign up to participate for three consecutive seasons, from June 15 through October 15. For qualifications and incentives, visit ladwp.com/drprogram.
LADWP offers residential and commercial customers a variety of rebates and savings program for both energy and water. Throughout the summer, customers can receive higher rebates on selected energy efficient window A/Cs, smart thermostats, and advanced power strips all summer through the Efficient Product Marketplace. In addition, the Marketplace offers a new feature called “Checkout,” which provides rebates instantly – no waiting or application forms required. Checkout is available now on selected items.
To learn more about our rebate programs and conservation tips visit LADWP.com/save.
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