Summer Bill Savings for Portland General Electric Customers

It is the middle of June and here in northwest Oregon, summer is still eluding us. Nonetheless, now is the time to prepare to capture bill savings on hot days when there is a lot of strain on the electric system. Specifically, if you are a customer of Portland General Electric (PGE), you can work together with the utility to lower energy use during hours of high demand. PGE offers two such programs: Peak Time Rebates and the Smart Thermostat Program.

Peak Time Rebates

This program is for the summer season (June 1 – September 30). PGE notifies participating customers about high usage hours (for instance, 5pm-9pm) on days when there may be benefits to decreasing energy usage. Customers can respond by shifting their home electricity use away from those hours to a different time of the day.

Here are some ways to participate once you are signed up:

• Precool your home and then turn your thermostat up during the peak hours.
• Do not use your washer, dryer, or oven during the peak hours.
• Keep lights and computers off and unplug any appliances you’re not using. (Even when turned off, many electronic appliances such as TVs, toasters, lamps, and stereos can still consume electricity if they’re plugged in.)

This reduces the load on PGE’s system, thereby preventing customers from paying for high energy prices, and rewards customers with a rebate on their next bill. The amount of bill savings for a customer depends on the household’s average energy use. The greater the average usage, the higher the bill savings. One CUB employee, Will Gehrke, saved $40 on his electricity bill last year through the Peak Time Rebate program!

PGE customers can sign up for the Peak Time Rebates program online or call 503-228-6322 or 800-542-8818 on weekdays, 7am-7pm.

Smart Thermostat Program

PGE customers with a smart thermostat can sign up for this seasonal bill savings program. Once the customer signs up, PGE can remotely control the customer’s smart thermostat during peak hours. The utility does this by changing the customer’s set temperatures by 1-3 degrees, reducing the load on its system during selected hours. The program pays enrolled customers a one-time $25 enrollment credit and then $25 in bill credits each summer and winter for participating.

Customers can sign up for this program using their smart thermostat phone app or online. This program is only available to customers who have an eligible smart thermostat.

PGE customers can only sign up for one of these two programs.

These programs provide more than just bill savings opportunities to PGE customers. By participating in them, customers help prevent the utility from buying high-priced electricity from the market or making large capital investments to support peak hour electric demand. These programs also help the utility rely on cheaper, cleaner, and renewable resources like solar and wind power.

At CUB, we think that purchasing energy services from residential customers, as PGE is here, is far preferable to building new power plants or buying expensive energy that would raise costs for everybody. This underscores the vital role consumers play in the transition to a clean energy future.

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