For Pepco Maryland customers who already have a smart thermostat and would like to participate in the Smart Thermostat Savings Energy Wise Rewards program, you must enroll your smart thermostat between July 1 and October 31 of the calendar year to receive a one-time enrollment bonus, in addition to up to $40 in bill credits every year you participate. If your home is within a valid Pepco Maryland zip code and you have an eligible smart thermostat, you can enroll here. You will also be asked to review and agree to the program terms and conditions. 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.
Smart Thermostat Savings
Energy Wise Rewards
When you enroll and remain enrolled in Energy Wise Rewards, you will receive monthly bill credits from May through October. You will receive $8 per device per month (June, July, August, September, and October bills) for up to $40 per device per year. Each eligible device must be individually controlling an electric air conditioner or heat pump to receive incentives.
Yes, you can opt out of a conservation period by simply changing the temperature on your smart thermostat or in the thermostat mobile application. Customers may or may not notice that an Energy Wise Rewards conservation period is occurring. Most customers may not experience a difference in comfort during a 2- to 4-hour period because the temperature in a typical home may rise 1-3 degrees. The program reserves the right to unenroll any participant that consistently opts-out of conservation periods.
A PJM emergency conservation event is called when electricity demand is exceptionally high, such as during periods of extreme heat. PJM Interconnection oversees the energy grid across the region and may call these events to help maintain grid reliability and reduce strain on the electric system. As an Energy Wise Rewards participant, your enrolled device may be cycled for short periods to help reduce electricity demand.
By participating in the Energy Wise Rewards Smart Thermostat Savings program, you're helping reduce demand during periods of peak usage. When thousands of customers participate together, it helps support a more reliable energy grid for everyone.
Yes. Customers enrolled in the residential Energy Wise Rewards Smart Thermostat Savings program are able to override participation during a PJM emergency conservation event. You can manually adjust your smart thermostat setting to override a PJM conservation event.
The duration of a PJM emergency conservation event depends on grid conditions. Events are typically several hours long and will conclude once emergency conditions have ended.
Conservation events typically occur on weekday afternoons and can last anywhere from 2 to 4 hours. If PJM Interconnection calls a conservation period for reliability reasons, it will last until the situation is resolved; therefore, Pepco cannot state how long an event of this type may last. Customers who participate in Energy Wise Rewards with their own smart thermostat may opt out by adjusting their thermostat.
No, you are always in control of your own thermostat(s). The Energy Wise Rewards program 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+”, Google Nest’s “Seasonal Savings”, Amazon Smart Thermostat, Sensi Smart Thermostat, Honeywell Home “Total Connect Comfort”, or Honeywell Home “First Alert Resideo” 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. The Energy Wise Rewards program partners with your smart thermostat manufacturer to send conservation period 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 period if you wish.
If your thermostat isn’t currently listed as eligible, you have two options:
Purchase an eligible smart thermostat or customer’s have the option of having one installed through Pepco’s other residential Maryland energy efficiency programs. Be sure to confirm the model is eligible for Energy Wise Rewards before purchasing.
Appliance Rebate Program: Get a $100 rebate on an ENERGY STAR™ certified smart thermostat.
Complete the portal application after selecting “My device is not listed.” We’ll keep you updated as additional thermostats are added.
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.
Pepco, the smart thermostat manufacturers, and Pepco’s partner, Connected Savings, 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 Maryland Public Service Commission. For further details, please refer to the Terms and Conditions here.
Current Energy Wise Rewards participants who would like to transition from an Energy Wise Rewards thermostat to a smart thermostat can still participate in the program! Please contact us so your Energy Wise Rewards thermostat can be collected. Then, install your eligible smart thermostat and enroll here.
If you have an Energy Wise Rewards outdoor switch and are participating in the program, you should not enroll your smart thermostat in Energy Wise Rewards.
Flex Rewards
Flex Rewards is a program for Energy Wise Rewards customers who have electric heat pumps as their cooling and heating equipment. Flex Rewards provides a more flexible experience for participants to help maintain energy grid stability while minimizing customer comfort concerns. Flex Rewards differs from Energy Wise Rewards in the following ways:
Eligibility – Customers must have electric cooling and heating to participate in Flex Rewards, but customers only need electric cooling to participate in Energy Wise Rewards.
Event experience – Flex Rewards events are typically shorter in duration (1-3 hours) compared to Energy Wise Rewards (2-4 hours), and Flex Rewards temperature adjustments are typically smaller (1-3 degrees) compared to Energy Wise Rewards (2-3 degrees). Overall, Flex Rewards events are designed to be unnoticed by participants.
Incentives – Flex Rewards customers can earn up to $72 in bill credits per device, in comparison to up to $40 with Energy Wise Rewards.
Event season – Flex Rewards conservation periods (or “events”) can occur any time of year, whereas Energy Wise Rewards events occur between May 1 and October 31.
Event frequency – Flex Rewards events are generally more frequent than Energy Wise Rewards events.
You are eligible to participate in Flex Rewards if you are already enrolled in Energy Wise Rewards with a smart thermostat and have central air conditioning and an electric heat pump for heating. Eligible program participants can opt in with the links below.
Enroll Now (powered by Connected Savings)
If you have not enrolled in Energy Wise Rewards and have an eligible smart thermostat, enroll with your smart thermostat vendor here.
When you participate, you will receive monthly bill credits from January through December. You will receive up to $6 in bill credits per month or $72 in bill credits per year per device. Bill credits are not contingent on your participation in conservation events, but will cease if you decide to unenroll from the program.
Yes, if you would like to move back to Smart Thermostat Savings Energy Wise Rewards from Flex Rewards, please reach out to PepcoBYOD@icf.com and the program team will move your participation to Energy Wise Rewards. Please note that your bill credits will change if you switch programs.
A PJM emergency conservation event is called when electricity demand is exceptionally high, such as during periods of extreme heat. PJM Interconnection oversees the energy grid across the region and may call these events to help maintain grid reliability and reduce strain on the electric system. As an Energy Wise Rewards participant, your enrolled device may be cycled for short periods to help reduce electricity demand.
By participating in the Energy Wise Rewards program, you're helping reduce demand during periods of peak usage. When thousands of customers participate together, it helps support a more reliable energy grid for everyone.
Yes. Customers enrolled in the residential Energy Wise Rewards Program are able to override participation during a PJM emergency conservation event. You can manually adjust your smart thermostat setting to override a PJM conservation event.
The duration of a PJM emergency conservation event depends on grid conditions. Events are typically several hours long and will conclude once emergency conditions have ended.
*EmPOWER Maryland programs are funded by a charge on your energy bill. EmPOWER programs can help you reduce your energy consumption and save you money. To learn more about EmPOWER and how you can participate, click here.
The EmPOWER Maryland charge funds programs that can help you reduce your energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and save you money. Since the inception of the EmPOWER Maryland program in 2008, the programs have saved $14.5 billion on installed measures at a cost of $4.1 billion. In addition to new program costs, this charge includes paying off the uncollected costs that were accrued over time by programs required by the EmPOWER statute and authorized by the Commission. In accordance with House Bill 864 the uncollected amounts will be fully paid by the end of 2032.