Have a Smart Thermostat? Earn Up to $145 in Incentives

As the summer heats up, your small business may be able earn up to $145 in financial incentives through our Power Savers program by reducing energy use on days with high energy demand. The program offers incentives to small commercial customers with smart thermostats for allowing us to make limited adjustments to their thermostats during periods of peak demand.

In the summer, rising temperatures often means added stress on our power grid as more customers turn up their air conditioners to keep cool. Energy management programs like Power Savers are one way that we can encourage customers to reduce their energy use as demand skyrockets. As energy use decreases, so too does the strain on our power grid, helping us make sure we have enough energy supply to keep up with all of L.A.’s demand.

How does the program work?

On the hottest days, or other times when we expect very high demand in the grid, we initiate demand response events. During these events, we remotely adjust the smart thermostat temperatures of Power Savers program participants to decrease the amount of energy their HVAC systems use.

Customers must enroll their smart thermostat to opt into participating in the program. This gives us permission and access to increase their thermostat settings by up to 4 degrees during an event. In the hours leading up to an event, the program also may lower participants’ thermostat temperatures for pre-cooling. Doing so shifts that energy load to before the anticipated period of high demand while helping the customer remain comfortable during the event. Participants may opt out of an event or pre-cool period at any time from their mobile device, web browser, or thermostat.

Customers can enroll their thermostat in the program on our website at any time, but events will only be called during the program season, from June 1 to October 31. Up to 20 demand response events may take place during this time; on average, about 9 events are called. All take place at some point between 1 p.m. and 10 p.m. (excluding holidays) and last no more than 4 hours.

What are the benefits of participating?

Along with limiting energy use, promoting energy supply, and contributing to our grid reliability, businesses can also earn up to $145 in financial incentives in their first year of participation. Customers receive a one-time $55 prepaid card simply for enrolling their thermostat. As customers participate in events, they become eligible for additional annual financial incentives, which are also distributed via a prepaid card at the end of each program season:

• Participating in more than 75% of events earns a $90 annual participation incentive
• Participating in 25%-74% of events earns a $40 annual participation incentive
• Participating in less than 24% of events is not eligible for an annual participation incentive (Note: Percentages are determined by total minutes of participation compared to the total minutes of events.)

More Information

The Power Savers program is open to residential and small commercial customers with eligible web-enabled or smart thermostats. To see the list of eligible thermostats, find more information, or enroll, please visit ladwp.com/PowerSaversProgram.