Peak Rewards
Earn rewards for participating with your smart devices
Get more from your home's smart devices by allowing us to remotely adjust their operation for brief periods to manage the demand on our electrical system.
How it works
Throughout the year, we'll hold periodic 'peak time events'. During these events, we'll remotely adjust your enrolled smart home device(s). This may include delaying the start of charging your electric vehicle (EV) or lowering the temperature on your smart thermostat by a couple of degrees.
Each event will last no more than four consecutive hours. You can opt out of the event at any time, and you'll always maintain full override control of your enrolled devices. After an event ends, your device will return to its normal operation.
You'll receive a $50 annual reward for each device type that you enroll in the program, and there are three eligible device types.
Eligible smart home devices:
Eligible smart home thermostat for baseboard heating, central air conditioners and heat pumps.
- Mysa baseboard thermostat
- Sinopé baseboard thermostat
- Ecobee thermostat for air conditioners and heat pumps (enrollment is currently closed)
- ChargePoint Level 2 networked EV chargers
- JuiceBox Level 2 networked EV chargers
- SWTCH networked EV chargers*
*Only an eligible product for multi-unit residential buildings that participate in this program. Contact your strata or SWTCH Energy for more information.
- Sinopé smart load controller
- Sinope Calypso water heater controller
Eligibility
To be eligible for the program, you must be the BC Hydro account holder and the owner of your residence or a tenant with consent from the owner. See additional eligibility criteria below for specific device types.
If you're enrolling an EV charger, you must:
- Own a plug-in electric vehicle.
- Have an eligible EV charger that's always connected to the internet, or be a SWTCH user living in a participating building.
- SWTCH users don't need to own their residence.
If you're enrolling a smart thermostat or a load controller, you must:
- Have an eligible thermostat or load controller that's always connected to the internet.
Ineligible customers
- You can't participate in this program if your BC Hydro account is on the E-Plus rate.
How to sign up
Enrollment in the program is done via the manufacturer of each eligible smart home device. Here's how to enroll based on the device(s) you own:
DEVICE |
INSTRUCTIONS |
|---|---|
| Sinopé | Activate the "Eco Sinopé" feature in the NeviWeb app. |
| Mysa | Enroll your device through Mysa's registration page. |
| Ecobee | You'll receive an in-app notification inviting you to upgrade to eco+ and to join the air conditioning pilot. Enrollment for this pilot is currently closed. |
| ChargePoint | Enroll through the ChargePoint app in the Account / Connections section using the code "PEAKREWARDS" |
| SWTCH | Eligible users can enroll via the SWTCH app. |
| JuiceBox (Enel X Way) | Submit the enrollment form on the JuiceBox website. |
Once your enrollment is completed, we'll review your information and send you an email with next steps within 10 business days.
See the program terms and conditions [PDF, 135 KB] for full program details.
Have questions?
Review our frequently asked questions below. If you still need help, please email us.
Contact your device manufacturer directly.
MANUFACTURER |
CONTACT INFORMATION |
|---|---|
| ChargePoint Technologies | 1 888 758 4389 |
| JuiceBox / EnelX Way | 1 844 584 2329 |
| Mysa | Mysa's website |
| Ecobee |
1 877 932 6233 |
| Sinopé Technologies | 1 855 741 7700 |
| SWTCH Energy | 1 844 798 2438 |
Peak time events can happen any time of the day, but most commonly take place between 6 a.m. to 11 a.m., and 4 p.m. and 10 p.m.
You don't need to take any action during an event. Your registered device(s) will respond to the signal we send them to automatically adjust their operation.
- EV chargers will stop charging or charge at a lower rate.
- Load controllers will safely shut off the water heater for the duration of the event.
- In heating season, Mysa thermostats will set back the temperature by up to three degrees. Eco Sinopé users can set their own temperature set-back preferences.
- In cooling season, with Ecobee thermostats, you can enable pre-cooling prior to events if you'd like, then during an event, the thermostat will allow your temperature to increase by 0.5 to 2º C above your pre-set comfort temperature.
After the event, your devices will return to their normal operation.
Most devices will have a "demand response" or "DR" indicator on their screen or in their app. You may receive a notification from your EV charger indicating that charging has been paused.
Most devices allow you to use the device's app to opt out of the event. For thermostats, you can simply adjust the temperature up or down manually. For EV chargers, you can restart charging by unplugging your car and plugging it in again.
Rewards are paid out on your BC Hydro bill each year between April and June.
We're continuing to explore opportunities to add more eligible devices. For devices to work with our program, they must control electric-powered devices (i.e. no gas furnaces or appliances), and must be able to receive a signal via the internet so they can be controlled remotely.