Is anyone signing up for the PEPCO Energy Wise Rewards program?

[Anonymous]

I liked the concept, but did not like the idea of letting PEPCO turn off my compressor if there was high demand (which seems like a time I would be one of the people wanting to also demand more energy). I opted for the nest thermostat. Love it. Bills have been going down.

[Anonymous]

PEPCO installed this without my permission! Not only did they connect the device to my compressors; they drilled into my next door neighbor's brick deck pillar to house the "thermostat"/compressor controller. So all you see are wires coming from my compressor to this device on my neighbor's property. I'm furious. I did not want them touching my compressors and potentially damaging them. BTW, the reason we noticed this is because our A/C was mysteriously turning on and staying on because the device created its own setting to stay on until it was 75 degrees in the house. We NEVER set A/C down that low at night. We had it set at 79. So much for efficiency, huh? Without that device running the show, my A/C would not have cut on at all during the evening. So instead of saving you money, the device was cutting A/C on at times you would not otherwise cut it on and costing you more money!!! I took pictures; I scheduled for them to remove when I am present to videotape the process. I also have them sending me an apology letter acknowledging they installed this witout my permission. I have the claims department number. If there is any damage or changes to my A/C, I will be suing PEPCO for repairs! I HATE PEPCO!

[Anonymous]

Pepco sent me a $300 check in the mail thanking me for signing up for the program - which I did not. I never cashed the check. Someone showed up at my door anyway. I turned the person away but now do not trust Pepco.

[Anonymous]

Suggest staying away. The fine print you must read. Health issues, sensitive to hot temperatures I would steer clear from. Not worth the little bit of money you receive to keep you ac off for 4-6 hours possibly a hand full of times during the summer. Thermostats defective, outside boxes from my neighbors report were installed poorly, wires hanging and sightly installs done. STAY AWAY, temperature raise not worth the small credits. Pepco, clean up your act, open your eyes.

[Anonymous]

Here's their FAQ page:

https://energywiserewards.pepco.com/md/faq/

The only place the word "safe" appears is in the sentence "Just be sure your outdoor air conditioning unit and electrical safety box are accessible to our technicians."

Another entry in the FAQ goes:

I am on the Pepco system as having a medical condition. Am I able to participate?

Yes, only you can decide what's appropriate for you.

However, we want to make sure you are aware that the temperature inside the house will increase during a conservation period, and you should take that into consideration before enrolling.

The words "risk" and "doctor" do not appear in the FAQ at all.

So if I was to call up and say that I'm and old person in a poorly insulated house and I want the maximum cycling would they really not make any effort to advise me of any risk or not ask me to consult my doctor? Would they make some vague statement that the temperature in my house would be an unspecified amount higher? Do they really have no moral conscious? Can they be held liable in the even someone is seriously injured or killed by their program? Why do they have that incriminating FAQ page up?

[Anonymous]

Pepco is not known for customer relations, reliability, or saving money. They had three rate hincreases approved last year, there CEO makes over 11 million $ a year in compensation. Yet there rates are the highest and reliability among the lowest. I hope lots of people sign up for the program .I don't plan on it. I suggest to Pepco offer new programable thermostats at a subsudized cost with free installation. Offer a rebate if u reduce electricity use by 10% in the 12 months following installation. .Eliminate the Big Brother aspect. You will get a better response andkeep customers happy.People do want to save

[Anonymous]

Do NOT do this program if u have a heat pump system...after installation my heat would blow cool air unless I cranked it all the way up...called in the pepco tech and he said it was my system...in the meantime I read a review of a guy who ended up spending over a thousand dollars on this situation by going back n forth with hvac professionals and Pepco techs....back to my story...I get a 350 bill that is significantly higher than last year. I call an hvac company and they say that the thermostat is not hooked up properly but they can't touch it because it belongs to pepco...he writes a summary on the I voice....I call pepco and explain and they send a tech out who tells me that the certified hvac person is wrong... This is what I read about in a few reviews from folk that incurred large bills from going back and forth with hvac proffessionals and Pepco techs all the while getting extreemy high bills....beware!!!!

[Anonymous]

It's best to steer clear of these installs. They are using half trained outside contractors, and not listening to complaints that have been coming in about it. I have had issues as to where my thermostat does what it wants, and they in all their splendor did a heat shut off the coldest day in January. The pidley bill credit is so not worth it, nor is the aggrevation. Comverge is the company who does the installs I hear and read on the truck. I warn others, no, no and he-- no, stay clear.

[Anonymous]

It's all very big brother-ish to me,

[Anonymous]

I know I'm late as heck on this conversation but I live in an apartment and they JUST installed electronic thermostats (yeah, we still had the old mercury ones) and what happens today as it's 100 degrees out - yep "conservation mode" and it's 83 in my house although it's set to 73, and it's been running all day. Pepco said it's MANDATORY when you install new thermostats now that you he enrolled in "energy wise rewards program" for 12 months where in the event of extreme heat or power issues, THEY control it - well since it's an apartment, it's in my rental offices name not mine. You can "opt out" of a non emergency event twice a year, but only my rental office can do that, and of course they don't as it is for EACH UNIT they would have to do this and one time is for only ONE unit smh. This is BS, every single thing WE should be in control of, someone else is taking control of. BS BS BS. I'm HOT and it's been running all day COSTING me more than it's SAVING.

[Anonymous]

HI Anonymous!

The program is by no means mandatory! Give the Energy Wise Rewards a call at 866-353-5798 and give them your account number. Let them know about the problem with your AC running all the time and they will dispatch a technician for FREE to take a look at the device and fix it if necessary-- even replace it.

After that service call, you can call back and let them know you want that thermostat DEACTIVATED! Since your complex installed the thermostats, you cannot have them removed. But you can get them deactivated, meaning your device WILL NOT be cycled during the season.

If you do not wish to keep the thermostat, then yes, your complex must call Energy Wise Rewards to get the device removed. Energy Wise Rewards can either bring you a new thermostat (one that is not in the program), your complex can provide one of their own, or you can buy one. Energy Wise Rewards will then install the new thermostat for free.

Keep in mind that the entire program is FREE. Hope this helps!

[Anonymous]

Recently signed up for this program. (I live in MD)
I was told we get two days out of the year to opt out. One very hot day, after my daughter came home from practice after running several miles in the heat, I called them to opt out for the day. They said the AC would turn back on in 20 mins. Lie. It did not turn on until 6pm which is the time it would have turned on anyway.
I called the very next day and removed myself from the program.
After reading this forum, I'm thinking to go outside and remove the thing that gives them control.

[Anonymous]

We are at 75% cycling. When the red light is on, PEPCO is steering the bus. Yes, it gets a little warm. Not a big deal. We all survive.

If you are the type that must be in complete comfort at all times and keep your igloo at a cool 67, then no, the program isn't for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have had the program for 2 years (at the 50% level) and have had no issues at all. We keep our a/c at 78 normally. Occasionally we notice it goes up to 79 or 80. Maybe it is a bigger difference if you really keep it cool in the summer. It helps so much to reduce the peak demand, I feel good about it...but not quite good enough to do a higher percentage!

But can't you achieve the same so good feeling by Turing the thing down yourself? Yikes.

Yes, you can save the same amount of electricity by doing it yourself. Being in the program means you get am additional credit on your bill of $40-$80 per year for allowing PEPCO to be in control.

I've been 100% participant for several years and it has been fine for us. If your house struggles to keep up with the heat or takes a long time to recover, then it may not be a good option for you.
PEPCO lets you opt out of the program twice a year.

[Anonymous]

It was installed at my house one morning and that evening I turned on the Air and the temperature constantly climbed to an uncomfortable temperature. I would not recommend this program to anyone! The ac guy came out and there was nothing wrong with the ac unit and said they are getting lots of calls after Pepco installs this unit. My dogs were miserable for a few days and so was I at night,using ceiling fans and portable fans. Don't waste your time.
i had the outside unit and pepco installed it on a ragedy fence that was being torn down, so most the fence had already been removed and in a nearby pile. I don't know why he placed it there. I guess I'll just mail the little box back to pepco with the piece of fence its nailed to. Wait until it's mandatory.