Your business will have the opportunity to earn a credit on your electricity bill by reducing your energy use, typically between the hours of 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. A Peak Rewards Alert will let you know the date and time frame, usually 24 hours in advance.
If you reduce energy during an event, you’ll earn bill credits based on your results.
You’ll participate in a performance-based structure. That means you get rewarded for the energy you reduce during Peak Rewards Events. No commitment is required, but the more you save, the more you will earn.
| Season | Payment | Pay Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Winter Events (November – April) | $0.50 per kWh reduced | Quarterly |
| Summer Events (May – October) | $1.00 per kWh reduced | Quarterly |
If there is a grid emergency, you may receive a multiplier for your savings. The amount multiplied will be on the Alert.
Your business will participate in a capacity-based structure. Upon enrollment, we will work with you to come up with a kilowatt (kW) pledge. If you are able to get close to your pledge during each season, your business will earn rewards as detailed below!
| Season | Base Payment
(meet 75% of pledge) | Bonus
(meet 100% of pledge) | Pay Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer Events (May – October) | $30/kW | +$10/kW | End of Season |
| Winter Events (November – April) | $10/kW | +$5/kW | End of Season |
Earn the base incentive by meeting at least 75% of your pledge during events and a bonus by meeting or exceeding 100% of your pledge.
Our team can review your energy usage with you and suggest a pledge amount that makes sense for your business.
Your savings are calculated based on your energy usage over previous weeks – so the less energy you use, the more you save!
You do not have to pay a penalty if you do not reduce your energy use.
Maximize your savings with these energy-saving tips:
Need more tips? Email peak-rewards@sanjoseca.gov or call (844) 326-5217.
What is Peak Rewards for Business?
Peak Rewards for Business is San José Clean Energy’s (SJCE) demand response program for Commercial and Industrial customers. SJCE will pay your company to reduce energy use a few times per month, usually during peak times when we issue Alerts. An Alert may be triggered for a specific time to prevent stress on the electricity grid. Stress on the grid is generally caused by high demand or short supply and can lead to reduced grid reliability or, in the most dire cases, rotating outages.
How and when will I be notified about a Peak Rewards opportunity?
Peak Rewards Alerts can be delivered through email, text, or both depending on your preference. When you sign up for Peak Rewards for Business, you are automatically defaulted into both notification options. You can change your preferences by contacting your SJCE account manager or emailing peak-rewards@sanjoseca.gov.
In most cases, you will have 24-hour prior notice. During grid emergencies, you may have shorter notice.
How will SJCE know that our company reduced our energy use? What is our energy use being compared to?
When you choose San José Clean Energy, you’re building a cleaner, more sustainable community with programs that can save money for your family or business. We already have access to your usage data and can use it to calculate a baseline usage for your business. SJCE looks at how much energy you typically use during the timeframe specified in the Peak Rewards Alert and calculates your reductions based on that baseline.
Can I also be enrolled in other demand response programs like OhmConnect, Voltus, or a PG&E program?
No, your account can only be enrolled in one demand response program at a time. To participate in Peak Rewards, you must unenroll from any other demand response programs. If you need help unenrolling from your current program, reach out to your current program provider.
What if I do not save energy during the time specified by the Peak Rewards Alert?
There are no penalties for not saving energy, but you will not earn any credits for that event.
What if I don’t want to participate during the time specified by the Peak Rewards Alert?
There are no penalties for not saving energy, but you will not earn any credits for that event. You will have more opportunities to participate in future events. If you do not plan to respond to any future Peak Rewards Alerts, we recommend you let us know at peak-rewards@sanjoseca.gov so that we can unenroll you from the program.
What if I can only save energy for a portion of the time specified by the Peak Rewards Alert?
SJCE calculates savings based on usage during the timeframe specified in the Peak Rewards Alert. If you save overall during an event, you will receive a payout. If you don’t save, there is no penalty.
How do I know if I have a PG&E Smart Meter?
If you pay your own PG&E bill, it’s very likely that you have a PG&E Smart Meter already installed. To be sure, you can locate the meter at your business. Smart Meters typically have a digital display and will be labeled.
Who is Uplight?
Uplight is San José Clean Energy’s implementer for the Peak Rewards Program. They host the FlexSaver portal where you can see your results and send out all Peak Rewards Alerts and notifications. They also work with dozens of partners to ensure we can support as many of your smart devices as possible in our program.
Why would I choose Peak Rewards over a program like PG&E’s power saver rewards?
The Peak Rewards Program allows you to have a positive impact on your local community. It is designed to provide value to the residents and businesses in San José. Peak Rewards has a lower threshold for determining when to call an energy-saving event than the PG&E Power Saver Rewards Program, meaning that if a PG&E Power Saver Rewards event is called, it’s very likely that there will also be a Peak Rewards Alert issued, and you will not miss out on value. There will also be a lot more opportunities to participate during the year so you can earn additional rewards.
Who can sign up?
Any SJCE small business customer (PG&E Rate B-1 or B-6) with an active PG&E smart meter who lives in San José can sign up for Peak Rewards for Business. You must also be able to receive alerts via email or SMS texting.
When will I get paid for Peak Rewards?
Rewards earned throughout the season for responding to Peak Rewards Events will be applied as bill credits on your PG&E electricity bills on a quarterly basis. The credits will typically be applied within 4-6 weeks of the quarter end. Depending on your billing cycle, your Peak Rewards credits may take a little longer to show up. If you received a notification for earned credits from SJCE and more than 3 months have passed, please contact peak-rewards@sanjoseca.gov or 844-326-5217.
Do my rewards expire?
Rewards do not expire and will be applied to your PG&E bill following every Peak Rewards quarter.
How much can I earn for reducing my energy use?
Your rewards are based on the amount of energy reductions you achieve. You can earn $1.00 per kilowatt-hour reduced during summer Peak Rewards Events. There may also be times during the year when you can earn even more, like during an event that coincides with a state grid emergency.
Always keep an eye on your event notifications. We will let you know in advance of each event how much you can earn for your reductions that day.
Who can sign up?
Any Medium/Large SJCE business customer (PG&E Rate B-10, B-19, or B-20) with an active PG&E smart meter who lives in San José can sign up for Peak Rewards for Business. You must also be able to receive alerts via email or SMS texting.
What is an energy pledge, and how is it used to calculate my incentive?
Your pledge is the amount of energy in kilowatts (kW) that your business agrees to conserve each season during the hours when the grid needs it most.
If you meet your pledge, you earn rewards! For example, if you pledge 50 kilowatts in the summer season, meeting 75% of this pledge would earn you $1,500 ($30/kilowatt base payment), and meeting 100% of this pledge would earn you $2,000 ($30/kilowatt base payment plus $10/kilowatt bonus).
When will I get paid for Peak Rewards?
Rewards earned throughout the season for responding to Peak Rewards Events will be applied as bill credits on your PG&E electricity bills at the end of each season. The credits will typically be applied within 4-6 weeks of the season end. Depending on your billing cycle, your Peak Rewards credits may take a little longer to show up. If you received a notification for earned credits from SJCE and more than 3 months have passed, please contact peak-rewards@sanjoseca.gov or 844-326-5217.
Do my rewards expire?
Rewards do not expire and will be applied to your PG&E bill following every Peak Rewards season.
How much can I earn for reducing my energy use?
Your rewards are based on the amount of energy reductions you achieve. However, these reductions may be worth more during certain times of the year.
Your company can earn up to $30 for every kilowatt you commit to reducing during the summer (May–October), plus a $10 per kilowatt bonus if you meet or exceed your goal. In the winter (November–April), you can earn up to $10 per kilowatt, plus a $5 per kilowatt bonus for meeting or exceeding your goal.
There may also be times during the year when you can earn even more, like during an event that coincides with a state grid emergency.
Sample pledge scenario:
Uplight and SJCE will work with your company to develop a reliable plan for reducing electricity use. We’ll use that plan to estimate your committed electricity reduction for the program period. As operations vary throughout the year, we can create separate reduction commitments for the summer and winter periods.
If my business is unable to respond on one of the event days, do I forfeit my seasonal incentive?
Not necessarily. We evaluate your performance at the end of the season, by averaging all of your event reductions. This means that if you miss the mark slightly or completely during a single event, you still could earn the base payment at the end of the season. You can also reduce by more than your committed kilowatt amount in future events to try and reclaim your bonus payment! However, if by the end of the season you’ve missed several events such that your average kilowatts fall below 75% of your committed amount, your business will forfeit all incentives for the season.
What if I don’t meet 75% of my pledge?
If your average reduction across all events is less than 75% of your pledge, you simply won’t earn an incentive for that season. There’s no penalty if you cannot reduce your usage.
What if SJCE doesn’t call enough events so I can’t reduce my usage?
Your incentive is based on the events that actually take place. If fewer events are called in a season, your average reduction is simply calculated using those events, and your payment reflects that performance.
If I miss the beginning of the season, do I have to wait until the next one to enroll?
No, you may enroll mid-season. You will still make a pledge when you enroll, but we will pro-rate your payment amount based on the number of events left in the season.
SJCE has a partnership with Uplight to run the Peak Rewards for Business program. Please use fill out the interest form below and we will contact you with next steps.
