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Power Response Home FAQs

What is CPA’s Power Response Program?
  • CPA’s Power Response Program is a Demand Response program administered by AutoGrid Systems Inc. for CPA, where participants receive financial incentives for participating in the Program.

  • Demand Response programs encourage consumers to reduce energy usage when electricity consumption is anticipated to be higher than seasonally projected.

  • When the stress on the electricity grid is high, CPA will call an Energy Saving Event  and participants in the Power Response Program will be asked to reduce their electricity usage.

  • Demand Response programs provide incentives to participants for temporarily reducing energy usage during Energy Saving Events called by CPA. The reduced usage can decrease stress on the electricity grid and help lower greenhouse gas emissions.
What is CPA’s Power Response Home Program?
  • The Power Response Home Program allows residential customers to participate in a Demand Response program by conserving energy use through manual adjustments of their home devices.

  • This can be accomplished by temporarily adjusting the thermostat, delaying use of appliances (e.g., laundry machines and dishwashers), charging electric vehicles before or after the event, and turning off pool pumps, water fountains, electric ovens, air fryers, lighting, and other heavy users of electricity.

  • Participants do not need a smart device in order to participate.
If you would like to learn more about participating with a smart device, please visit our Power Response Smart Home page.
Who/What is AutoGrid?

AutoGrid has partnered with CPA to implement Power Response.  Based in California since 2011, AutoGrid and its customers use AutoGrid software to deploy demand response (DR) programs which combine behavioral dispatch, dynamic pricing, and direct load control mechanisms to reduce or shift load during peak electricity usage times. In addition, AutoGrid uses its proven software system and its vast network of partners to provide turnkey programs to the electricity providers and utilities in the US including program design and implementation, payment processing, and consumer support. For additional information please visit www.auto-grid.com

What are the financial benefits to me if I enroll in Power Response Home?
Power Response Home participants will receive $2 for each kilowatt-hour (kWh) of energy saved during an event. A kWh is a way to measure how much energy you are using over time. It refers to how many kilowatts are used over the course of one hour. Your energy bill is, in part, based on how many kWh are used in the billing cycle.

Your rewards will be accrued and paid at the end of each year in the form of an digital gift card. Actual incentives will vary based on individual electricity reductions.

Income-qualified customers may be eligible to receive a $20 digital gift card for enrolling. See “How can I check if I qualify for a $20 enrollment incentive?”

Incentives will be emailed to you in the form of a digital gift card. See “How will I be compensated for enrolling in Power Response Home?”.
How will I be compensated for participating in Power Response Home?

Incentives in the form of a digital gift card will be sent to the email address associated with your SCE account. To make changes to your email address, please call the CPA Power Response Program customer support center operated by AutoGrid at 888-292-0502 or email us at powerresponse@cleanpoweralliance.org.

How can I check if I qualify for a $20 enrollment incentive?

If you live in an under-resourced community or are currently enrolled in CARE or FERA, you may qualify for a $20 digital gift card when you successfully enroll.

Please click here to see if you are located in an under-resourced community.

Please click here to see if you qualify for CARE or FERA.

What are the other reasons to participate in this Program?

When you participate in the Power Response Home Program:

  • You earn money for your active participation, while helping CPA to lower the demand on the electricity grid.
  • You may save energy which may equal electricity bill savings, particularly if you are on a time-of-use rate.
  • You may help avoid a blackout when the stress levels on the electricity grid are high.
When does this Program start and end?

Power Response Home launched in April 2023 and currently does not have an end date However, the Program is subject to CPA’s terms and conditions, which may be updated from time to time.  Please review the terms and conditions.

How can I participate and reduce energy in Power Response Home?

Participants can adjust and lower energy use in a number of ways at home during events, including: increasing your thermostat setpoint of your AC in summer or lowering setpoint of electric heating in winter; turning off lights; delay charging electric vehicles; doing laundry or using the dishwasher before or after the event window; delay charging devices; placing appliances on power savings mode, unplugging appliances and devices you’re not using.

What is a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) event?

Extreme fire danger conditions over the past year have led the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to adopt a procedure that directs investor owned utilities like SCE to turn off the power in the interest of public safety. These "events" are known as Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS).

Both Los Angeles and Ventura Counties have Tier 2 and Tier 3 high hazard fire zones and some parts of Clean Power Alliance's territory may be more prone to getting notified of PSPS events.

Clean Power Alliance supports our customers' safety and has resources and information available for you to be prepared for PSPS events. For more information please visit CPA’s Outage Information page.

What is needed to enroll into the Program?

As part of the enrollment process, you must agree to share your SCE meter data with AutoGrid, CPA’s program administrator for the Power Response Program. Your SCE account login will be needed to securely share your meter data with the Program. If you do not have an SCE login, you will be prompted to create one to continue. You will then be asked how you would like to receive Energy Saving Event notifications from the Program.

You will be guided through these steps as part of the enrollment process, which you can begin by clicking here.

How do I enroll into the Program?
Please visit the Program webpage to enroll with three simple steps:
  1. Click the "Enroll Now" button to begin your enrollment.

  2. Complete the SCE authorization form to securely share your energy usage data which tracks your Power Response participation. You will be notified via email from powerresponse@cleanpoweralliance.org that your enrollment is pending. Please note this step can take up to six weeks to confirm your information.

  3. Once you are successfully enrolled, you will receive an email notification. When notified, you can create a Power Response login to track your participation and financial incentives.

Once enrolled in the Program, you will be able to participate in Energy Saving Events! Power Response Home participants will receive event notifications to inform you when to conserve energy in your home. Power Response Home participants will also have access to a Power Response Account, where they will be able to track their individual Energy Saving Event performance.
How will I know if I am enrolled into the Program?

You will be notified via email from powerresponse@cleanpoweralliance.org that your enrollment is accepted or not accepted approximately three to six weeks after enrolling in the Power Response Home Program. During the enrollment process, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) will check to see that you are not currently enrolled in another conflicting DR program.  If the process with CAISO finds that you are currently enrolled in another conflicting DR program, and you cannot be disenrolled from it, you will receive a nonacceptance letter and will be unable to participate.

How will I know if I am enrolled in a conflicting DR program?

You will be notified by powerresponse@cleanpoweralliance.org email approximately three to six weeks after registering your device if there is a conflict when you are being enrolled in the Power Response Program.

How do I withdraw from the Program?

You may withdraw from Power Response Home at any time with no financial penalty by contacting CPA’s Power Response customer support at 888-292-0502 or email powerresponse@cleanpoweralliance.org.   

How many Energy Saving Events will there be and how long are the events?

The number of Energy Saving Events per year depend on grid conditions, but will not exceed 40 events per calendar year. Events will last no more than 4 hours in one day, and there will not be more than 3 Events per week.  There will not be Events on Holidays.

In the rare case that there is a grid emergency, there may be more than 3 Events in a week, or an Event may occur on a holiday.

How will I be notified of an Energy Saving Event?

Power Response Home participants will receive notifications by text message and/or email. Participants will select their preferred method of notification at the time of enrollment, but may change their preference by contacting customer support or by logging into their Power Response Account.

Participants will receive notifications of an Energy Saving Event the day before and the day of an event.

How can I track my Energy Saving Event performance?

Power Response Home participants will have access to a customer portal, where they will be able to track their individual Energy Saving Event performance. Following enrollment, participants will receive an email to create their Power Response Account.  Event performance will be available following 1-2 billing cycles following an Energy Saving Event. The performance for which you will be paid a participation incentive will be reflected in your Power Response Account at the end of the season.

Your event performance and incentive calculation may change before we issue an incentive payment if SCE sends updated meter data which changes the calculation.  Following payment of your participation incentive, CPA will not revise your event performance results to reflect the updated meter data or modify the paid incentives.

What if I am not able to respond to an Energy Saving Event notification?
You will not be assessed any financial penalties for declining or not participating in events. However, continued lack of participation in Energy Saving Events could impact your annual incentive value and ability to remain in the Power Response Home Program in the future.
What data will I be sharing if I participate in this Program, and how will my data be stored?

Once you agree to share your meter data as part of the enrollment process, you will authorize AutoGrid to be your Demand Response Provider (DRP). As a result, AutoGrid will have access to some of your utility information, including the customer name associated with the account, the service address, rate schedule, meter type, electric usage, billing data, and if you are enrolled in a utility demand response program. This data will be kept in a secure location according to Fair Information Practices as prescribed by the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) guidelines. For more information on the DRP authorization process and data protocols, refer to the CPUC website here. For more information on AutoGrid’s privacy policy please click here.

More about CPA:

Founded in 2017, Clean Power Alliance is the locally operated electricity provider for 30 cities across Los Angeles County and Ventura County, as well as the unincorporated areas of both counties. CPA is the fifth largest electricity provider in California and the single largest provider of 100% renewable energy to customers in the nation. CPA serves approximately three million customers via one million customer accounts, providing clean renewable energy at competitive rates. To view CPA’s 2022 Impact Report, click here. To learn more about CPA, please visit our About Us page.