Utility launches innovative program to give customers cash credit for saving power: 'Peak times are forecasted internally'

Dominion Energy, a company that provides electricity to Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, has announced a Peak Time Rebates Program, designed to incentivize customers to reduce their energy usage during times of extreme weather and hours when energy usage would normally increase.

Cherise Newsome, a spokesperson for the company, said, "Peak times are forecasted internally and pretty much they align with the severe weather. They are normally three to four hours long, typically in the afternoon when most people start using more of the electricity in their homes," as per 13News Now.

The way the program works is that Dominion will compare a customer's energy usage during peak hours to an average of their use during the same time span for the ten non-peak days before that. Then, for every kilowatt-hour of energy saved, customers receive a $1.25 credit.

Customers receive a text message when "an event" is predicted, and the Dominion website offers ways to prepare for it, such as pre-cooling the home, charging devices ahead of time, and planning meals that don't require electricity or the oven. Then, during the event, customers can decide whether or not to participate by raising the temperature of their air conditioning and avoiding overusing electricity.

The program is a clever and rewarding way to show appreciation for customers' voluntary help in the form of substantial financial credit.

The U.S. Department of Energy reports that "Extreme weather events due to climate change — hurricanes, wildfires, ice storms, flooding, heat waves — are growing in frequency, duration, and intensity, putting stress on already overloaded and aging national electrical infrastructure."

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A power outage can mean more than an inconvenience. It can mean tons of spoiled food, a delay in emergency services, the dysfunction of hospital equipment, and more.

When enough individuals reduce their energy expenditure during a weather event, it takes that much pressure off the power grid, meaning the services that absolutely need power to operate are more likely to have it. And that's worth raising the thermostat a couple of degrees for a few hours.

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