SmartRewards, Santee Cooper's Demand Response Program
From the increasing frequency of severe weather events to fuel shortages, the need for demand response is on the rise. To understand demand response, it’s helpful to understand electricity demand in general. Check out this blog I wrote to learn more.
There are many reasons why reducing electric demand make sense, and here are just a few of those reasons:
- It improves grid reliability – Demand response helps utilities manage peak demand and that reduces the risk of blackouts and brownouts.
- It reduces energy costs – When energy consumption is reduced during periods of peak demand, utilities can avoid the expense of building new power plants or transmission lines to meet that demand. This ultimately helps keep rates low for customers.
- It promotes renewable energy – Some renewable energy is only available at certain times. Demand response can be used to shift demand to times when renewables like solar and wind are at peak production.
- It can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions – Reducing energy consumption during peak demand periods can help reduce the dependance on power plants that rely on fossil fuels.
Now that you understand electricity demand and the importance of demand response, you can see why programs to help reduce the demand makes sense. That’s why we are proactively making demand response a priority by offering a program called SmartRewards that gives you bill credits for simply allowing us to install a switch that cycles your central heating and cooling system and/or electric water heater on and off for brief intervals when demand is high.
SmartRewards is a voluntary program that is FREE. By joining the program, you will help us maintain our exceptional reliability and earn bill credits up to $100 your first year and up to $50 for every year you continue to participate. We already have nearly 1,000 customers enrolled in the program who are currently enjoying their rewards.
If you’re interested in seeing how SmartRewards is a good fit for you or you’d like to enroll, visit scsmartrewards.com or call the SmartRewards call center at 833-493-1038.
