In a new release ahead of Earth Day, AVANGRID has announced that it is giving its subsidiaries United Illuminating (UI), Connecticut Natural Gas (CNG), Southern Connecticut Gas (SCG), New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG) and Rochester Gas and Electric (RG&E) the opportunity to help customers go green with a new Smart Thermostat from Google for no or very low cost.
AVANGRID is one of the leading sustainable energy companies in the US and a member of the Iberdrola Group. Under the newly announced deal, customers who enroll in the companies’ demand response programs will get a Nest thermostat from Google, which will help them use less energy, and keep better track of how and when they use electricity.
“This is an amazing opportunity ahead of the summer months for our customers to take greater control over their energy usage,” said Pedro Azagra, CEO, AVANGRID. “We want to empower our customers to understand their energy use and what adjustments can be made that best fit their family and lifestyle. Smart programmable thermostats assist with this by automatically varying temperatures settings throughout the day, helping our customers save energy.”
Reportedly, UI, SCG and CNG customers who enroll in the company’s Smart Savers Rewards program will receive a Google Nest Thermostat for $5, while NYSEG and RG&E customers who join their Smart Savings Rewards programs will get it for free.
These demand response programs offer incentives to residential and small business customers that are designed to encourage them to reduce electricity use during times of peak summer demand. In addition, these smart thermostats can provide anonymized data about energy use patterns and draws on the grid, allowing the utilities to better predict need and supply.
Under this program, once enrolled, the participants agree to allow their supplier to make brief, limited temperature adjustments via their smart thermostats from May 1 to September 30, excluding holidays, on days when electricity demand is at its highest. Participation is voluntary and customers can opt out of temperature adjustments at any point by changing their air conditioning temperature. Customers who participate in temperature adjustments will receive a bill credit at the end of the season.
To learn more about this Earth Day offer, UI, SCG and CNG customers can visit here, NYSEG customers here and RG&E customers here.
