On days where electricity demand is high, between June and October, Atlantic City Electric will initiate conservation periods (or “Events”) for Energy Wise Rewards participants where your smart thermostat temperature set point will be adjusted by 1-4 degrees to help balance the region’s demand for electricity. For enrolling your smart thermostat(s), you will receive a one-time enrollment incentive. For participating in the program, you will receive monthly bill credits from June through October.
The number of conservation periods depends on many factors, including weather, peak electricity demand, and wholesale energy costs. Energy Wise Rewards is only activated during times of high electricity demand, emergency conditions, or system testing. As such, there may be as few as 2 conservation periods (“Events”), or as many as a dozen. In a typical year, one can expect 5 or less events.
Conservation periods (“Events”) typically occur on weekday afternoons and can last anywhere from 2 to 4 hours. If PJM* calls an emergency event for reliability reasons, it will last until the situation is resolved; therefore, Atlantic City Electric cannot state how long an event of this type may last.
When you enroll your smart thermostat(s), you will receive a one-time enrollment incentive of $50 per enrolled device. When you participate in Energy Wise Rewards, you will receive monthly bill credits from June through October. You will receive $10 per device per month for up to $50 per device per year. Each eligible device must be individually controlling an electric air conditioner or heat pump to receive incentives.
There are two ways to enroll in Energy Wise Rewards:
Once all steps are complete, your enrollment will be submitted for review and approval by the program. You can expect to receive enrollment approval or rejection within 10 business days.
You or someone in your household completed the enrollment application steps including submitting your name, email address, account number and/or home address, and agreed to the program terms and conditions.
Ecobee Customers:
If you are an Ecobee customer, you enabled “Eco+” which enrolls you in Ecobee’s thermostat optimization feature and allows you to enroll in Energy Wise Rewards. Some customers may not realize they are agreeing to enroll in their utility program as they are clicking through the Eco+ steps.
Google Nest Customers:
If you are a Google Nest customer, you signed up for “Rush Hour Rewards” which is Nest’s proprietary name for Energy Wise Rewards. Though different in name, Rush Hour Rewards and Energy Wise Rewards are the same program.
No, Energy Wise Rewards does not make daily adjustments to your thermostat. If you are experiencing daily adjustments to your thermostat, you are likely enrolled in either Ecobee’s “Eco+” or Google Nest’s “Seasonal Savings” thermostat optimization feature. These optimization features use an algorithm to learn your thermostat behavior and adjust temperature setpoints to save you energy while maintaining your comfort. These features are not related to Energy Wise Rewards, and Atlantic City Electric does not initiate these adjustments.
No, you are always in control of your own thermostat(s). The program does not monitor your thermostat setpoints. The program partners with your smart thermostat manufacturer to send conservation event signals during times of peak electricity demand. Your thermostat manufacturer manages any temperature setpoint adjustments and you are always able to opt out of a conservation event if you wish.
Peak electricity demand occurs when everyone needs a lot of electricity at the same time, like everyone cooling their homes to 72 degrees during a heat wave. This increased demand creates stress on the electricity grid. The frequency of critical peak demand periods has increased as the population and the use of electric products has increased. Energy Wise Rewards is just one way Atlantic City Electric is managing the rising demand for electricity, averting power outages, and helping the environment by reducing emissions produced on summer days.
You may or may not notice that an Energy Wise Rewards conservation event is occurring. The temperature in a typical home may rise 1-4 degrees by the end of a conservation event. Variables such as home insulation, shaded windows, the use of ceiling fans, and the amount of foot traffic can affect the inside temperature.
Yes. To opt out, simply change the temperature on your smart thermostat or in the thermostat mobile application. Most customers will not notice a difference in comfort during a 3- to 4-hour conservation event. However, the program reserves the right to unenroll any participant, after giving notice, that consistently opts-out of conservation periods.
If your thermostat isn’t currently listed as eligible, you have two options:
Whole Home Energy Assessment: When you schedule an appointment an Energy Analyst may install a smart thermostat at no additional cost.
Marketplace: Shop online at Atlantic City Electric's Marketplace and receive instant rebates on ENERGY STAR certified smart thermostats. Be sure to confirm the model is eligible for Energy Wise Rewards before purchasing.
You can adjust your smart thermostat settings at any time.
You can enroll any smart thermostat that is listed on the eligible thermostats page even if you have different thermostat brands in different locations in your home. However, each smart thermostat must be individually controlling an air conditioner or heat pump system.
Atlantic City Electric, the smart thermostat manufacturers, and Atlantic City Electric’s partner, Virtual Peaker, treat all customer data as confidential and will only use your data to implement the program. For evaluation, measurement & verification purposes, your thermostat data may be used in aggregate for reporting purposes to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. For further details, please refer to the Terms and Conditions here.
Atlantic City Electric’s Energy Wise Rewards relies on being able to communicate with your thermostat, which requires a Wi-Fi connection. While temporary outages may not have significant impacts, your thermostat must remain connected to your home’s Wi-Fi to achieve the full benefits of this program. You may be removed from the program, with notice, if your thermostat is not connected for 30 days or more.
If your home is within a valid Atlantic City Electric zip code, you should see a program offer for Energy Wise Rewards within your smart thermostat mobile app or desktop website. The location of the program offer can differ between smart thermostat manufacturers. Once you locate the program offer, you can click it for more details and start the enrollment application steps. You will be asked to provide your name, email, account number and/or home address of where your eligible smart thermostat is located. You will also be asked to review and agree to the program terms and conditions.
Flex Rewards is a pilot program for customers who have electric heat pumps as their cooling and heating equipment. Flex Rewards provides a more flexible experience for participants to help maintain electricity grid stability while minimizing customer comfort concerns. Flex Rewards differs from Energy Wise Rewards in the following ways:
Flex Rewards is only open to select customers with electric heat pumps as their cooling and heating equipment, therefore the program will select customers with heat pumps to join.
Yes, if you would like to move back to Energy Wise Rewards, please reach out to ACEEnergyWiseRewards@icf.com and the program team will move your participation to Energy Wise Rewards.
Yes, if you would like to unenroll completely, please reach out to ACEEnergyWiseRewards@icf.com and the program team will unenroll you from Flex Rewards.
When you participate, you will receive monthly bill credits from June through October. You will receive bill credits (Residential customers: $10 per device per month up to $50; Commercial customers/businesses: $20 per device per month up to $100) per device per year. Bill credits will cease if you decide to unenroll from the program.