Smart Thermostats: Access $150 in Rebates

Why Enroll Your Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat?

With up to $150 in available rebates, it has never been a better time to enroll your new or existing smart thermostat if you are a joint customer of SCE and SoCalGas®.

A Wi-Fi smart thermostat may help reduce your electricity usage, and can potentially help you save on air conditioning (A/C) costs at home. Simply choose from a selection of qualified smart thermostats. Then, enroll in a qualified vendor’s smart thermostat program that participates in the Smart Energy program. During Smart Energy “energy events”, your smart thermostat service provider may adjust the temperature–but you have the flexibility to adjust the temperature setting to help you stay comfortable. When you lower your A/C usage, you may be eligible for bill credits.

Getting Started

  • Own or purchase a qualified smart Wi-Fi connected thermostat.
  • Enroll your smart thermostat through the qualified smart thermostat service provider’s website. Note that the smart thermostat service providers may refer to the Smart Energy program using a different name on their website.
  • Your smart thermostat service provider will notify you of your eligibility for the program.
  • When an “energy event” is called, your smart thermostat service provider may automatically adjust the thermostat temperature in your home.

How Does the Program Work?

  1. When a Save Power Days event is called, we will notify your smart thermostat service provider that an event will take place the following day (between 2 p.m. – 6 p.m.).
  2. Your smart thermostat service provider will notify you of the event, and may adjust your smart thermostat to pre-cool your home and/or change the temperature setting to reduce energy usage during the event.
  3. Additionally, your participation in a program can earn you up to $60 in bill credits every year. You will earn $1.25 in bill credits for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) saved during the event. You can expect to see the bill credit on your next SCE statement.
  4. You always have the option to adjust your temperature setting at your discretion.
  5. Consider turning your temperature setting up a few more degrees, or turning your A/C off, for even greater savings.

Smart Energy Program Events

Smart Energy Program events (“energy events”) can occur anytime throughout the year during non-holiday weekdays with a minimum duration of one-hour and a maximum duration of four-hours per event, between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. Multiple events may be called in the same day however, the total number of event hours will not exceed a maximum duration of four-hours in a day.  When an energy event is called, SCE will notify your Qualified Smart Thermostat Service Provider 20 minutes prior to the event start time. Your Qualified Smart Thermostat Service Provider will notify you of the event and may adjust the temperature setting to reduce A/C usage during the event. You always have the option of adjusting your temperature setting, based on your comfort and choice during an energy event. However, be aware that changing the temperature settings during this period may impact the bill credits you can earn. 

Smart Energy Program Bill Credits

SCE has two types of participation payments for the Smart Energy Program and provided in the form of monthly bill credits. Any earned credits will be consolidated to display as one total amount. Both credit types are explained below:

Capacity Bill Credit
Customers can earn up to $40 of Capacity Bill Credit annually for their enrollment on the Smart Energy Program. The Capacity Bill Credit will be provided to customers who maintain enrollment in the program from June 1 through September 30. Disbursement of credits will coincide with customer scheduled bill periods. Customers who enroll after June 1 or disenroll prior to September 30 will have their credits pro-rated to the summer season days with which they were actively enrolled in the program. Customers will earn $0.3275 per summer season day.

Energy Bill Credit
To calculate the Energy Bill Credit amount, SCE compares each participating customer’s usage during the Smart Energy Program event to the average of the three highest usage days of the previous five non-event, non-holiday week days during the same time frame. This method establishes a Customer Specific Reference Level (CSRL), which is used to determine the kWh reduction for each Smart Energy Program event in order to calculate the Energy Bill Credit. If the customer’s usage is lower on the Smart Energy Program event day to the CSRL, an Energy Bill Credit of $0.07 per each kWh reduced will be earned. Customers can expect to see Energy Bill Credits on their next SCE bill statement for any energy savings reduction achieved.
If the usage to calculate a CSRL is not available, due to a new service turn-on or Net Energy Metering (NEM) activation, customers will not be eligible for the Energy Bill Credit for that particular energy event.

Qualified Smart Thermostat Service Providers

Qualified Smart Thermostat Service Providers authorized by SCE for this program are EnergyHub, Nest Labs, Simple, Venstar, Whisker Labs, and Zen Ecosystems. Neither SCE nor SoCalGas endorses, qualifies or guarantees, and neither is responsible or liable for the products or services offered by the Qualified Smart Thermostat Service Providers. Customers who choose to participate in this program are not obligated to purchases any additional goods or services.