Member Spotlight | OhmConnect

Winner of the 2018 Acterra Business Environmental Award, OhmConnect is a free service available to households and businesses in California (PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E service areas) and Ontario, Canada (Toronto Hydro service area) that rewards saving energy at times when the electric grid is stressed.

Participants in the program receive text or email notifications when energy demand on the grid is high (periods of time we refer to as #OhmHours) and if they can use less energy than they’re forecasted to use, they get paid.

While customers can connect a variety of smart devices to the OhmConnect platform and thereby automate their participation in #OhmHours, purchasing hardware is not necessary for a rewarding customer experience.

“Technologies like rooftop solar and electric vehicles can save families money in the long term while helping the environment,” says John Anderson, OhmConnect’s Director of Energy Markets.  “However, the high up-front costs of these technologies make them inaccessible to many households.  At OhmConnect, we’re proud that we can offer a service that is free and accessible to virtually all households, regardless of income.  Indeed, data from the California utilities shows that lower-income households make up more than one third of OhmConnect’s customer base.  The rewards earned from participating in #OhmHours can make a real difference in these families’ day-to-day lives.”

How Green Button helps OhmConnect thrive

As a homeowner, renter, or small business owner Californians and Ontarians can access their data through the Green Button Connect program.  But even better than being able to see your home’s energy usage data, is to use it to your advantage.

Green Button Connect My Data allows utility customers to automate the secure transfer of their energy usage data to authorized third parties, based on affirmative (opt-in) customer consent and control, giving peace of mind to new registrants.

Looking forward

Summer is OhmConnect’s busiest time of year.  Demand on the grid is highest when the mercury rises (and households across California and Ontario are blasting their air conditioning units), meaning participants can earn hundreds of dollars for the energy they don’t use and major strides can be made towards keeping the grid functioning as it should.

OhmConnect is excited about what the future has in store for our energy needs.  Senate Bill (SB) 100 set some lofty goals to be 100 percent zero-carbon energy in California by 2045.  Transitioning buildings and homes to be fully electrified, making maximum use of renewables, and having flexible energy use is a path that sets us towards that sustainable and sunny future.