Yes. The ESA program is available to both homeowners and renters. Renters may be required to obtain the property owner’s written permission before certain measures and services are delivered.

For renters/tenants, the legal property owner or authorized agent must sign the Property Owner Authorization form.

How will I know I was approved for the sign-up bonus?

SCE will send an email to all customers who successfully enroll in the Smart Energy Program indicating whether or not they qualify for the $75 sign-up bonus.

How will the $75 sign-up bonus reflect on the bill?

The sign up bonus is displayed as an “Enabling Technology Incentive” within the “Your Account Summary” section of the bill.

Why do I get the daily bill credit rate of $0.3275 only from June 1 through September 30?

Energy events can occur at any time, year-round. We anticipate that most will occur during the summer when A/C usage is highest. We apply for the bill credits from June 1 through September 30 to help lower your bill during this time.

Where can I find my Smart Energy Program bill credits?

Program bill credits are provided during summer season months from June 1 through September 30 and are displayed as “Smart Energy Program Credit” within the “Details of your new charges” section of the bill.

Why does SCE need to have a minimum usage eligibility requirement?

Establishing a minimum usage eligibility requirement helps improve the effectiveness of the program by identifying and removing customers who are not able to demonstrate A/C usage reduction. The Smart Energy Program rewards customers who show A/C reduction when there is a need to conserve energy. These savings can be reallocated to other programs or services that may benefit SCE customers.

How did SCE determine the minimum usage eligibility requirement of 1.5 kWh?

SCE has evaluated hourly energy usage information for customers with air conditioning enrolled in a demand response program. SCE identified that customers with usage consistently below 1.5 kWh in the hour before or after events were dispatched, did not provide energy load reduction. Customers with usage of 1.5 kWh or greater do exhibit energy load reduction. SCE concluded that 1.5 kWh is an accurate threshold to determine A/C usage reduction.

Does SCE only evaluate the energy usage from my A/C?

Air Conditioners are not individually metered. Therefore, SCE must rely on whole house usage data to evaluate performance towards the minimum usage eligibility requirement. SCE considers this fact to have no negative impact on customers with regard to evaluating performance towards the minimum usage eligibility requirement.

My neighbor has a larger A/C unit than I do, why do we have the same minimum usage eligibility requirement?

SCE did not deem it necessary to establish different minimum usage eligibility requirements per customer. The 1.5 kWh minimum usage eligibility requirement is an accurate metric for A/C usage reduction determination and is conservatively set by only requiring customers to meet the threshold once per calendar year in the hour before or after, during energy events. If customers do run the A/C in the hour before or hour after an event, meeting the 1.5 kWh usage threshold should not be an issue.

Do customers participating in the Net Energy Metering (NEM) program have a different minimum usage eligibility requirement?

The analysis which established the minimum usage eligibility requirement of 1.5 kWh did not reveal a concern with NEM customers. SCE anticipates the NEM customers with A/C usage reduction will meet the minimum usage eligibility requirement in the late evening, once the sun sets and much of the usage demand is transferred back to SCE’s electric power grid.

What happens if I do not meet the minimum usage eligibility requirement?

Customers who do not meet the minimum usage eligibility requirement at least once in a calendar year, in the hour before or hour after energy events, will be removed from the program and must wait one year to re-enroll into SEP again.

What is the purpose of the Smart Energy Program?

SCE, its authorized thermostat service providers and participating thermostat manufacturers will protect personal information and usage data consistent with the terms and conditions of the program and each companies' privacy policy. SCE's Privacy Policy can be found at www.sce.com/privacy

SCE does not have direct access to your thermostat. Participation in the program is adminstered through our authorized thermostat service providers in partnership with qualifying thermostat manufacturers. By participating in the program, SCE may receive thermostat details through our authorized thermostat service provider for the purposes of fulfilling your obligation on the program. This includes, but is not limited to, thermostat brand, model, serial number, online connectivity status (e.g., online/offline), and participation details during energy events. Such as thermostat mode (e.g., cool, heat, off) and whether your thermostat participated or opted-out during an energy event.

You can override an event by changing the temperature at the thermostat or through the mobile or web application that you regularly use for your thermostat. Depending on the thermostat you have, you may see a notice that an energy event is taking place but can still proceed with any adjustment. Keep in mind, that overriding all events dispatched in a calendar year may affect your enrollment in the program. 

An SCE Energy Event is a designated time when SCE limits A/C usage in participating homes to reduce demand on the energy grid. Events can be called any time throughout the year but can't exceed more than six hours in one day. Multiple events can be called in one day, but the total cannot exceed a maximum of six hours per day.

A smart thermostat connects your heating and cooling systems to your smartphone, smart speaker, or other device. Depending on the thermostat, you can schedule your temperature settings, change the temperature remotely, and set reminders for scheduled maintenance. Some smart thermostats also use machine learning to understand your heating and cooling preferences and then adjust your settings based on those learnings.

A. The analysis which established the minimum usage eligibility requirement of 1.5 kWh did not reveal a concern with NEM customers. Many customers meet the minimum usage eligibility requirement in the evening when solar generation is minimal and much of the usage demand is from SCE’s electric power grid.