SCE Summer Reliability Program

Southern California Edison’s (SCE) Summer Reliability Program (SRP) offers participants performance-based compensation to reduce energy usage during times of high grid stress with the goal to avoid rotating outages while minimizing costs to ratepayers. The program assists commercial and residential customers to purchase and install energy efficiency measures to reduce electricity demand for the summers of 2022 and 2023. 
 
SCE designed SRP in response to the California Public Utility Commission’s Decision (D.) 21-12-011, issued 12/8/2021, Energy Efficiency Actions to Enhance Summer 2022 and 2023 Electric Reliability. The program focuses on peak energy reduction that qualifying vendors, called Trade Professionals can help customers achieve. These Trade Professionals will directly recruit customers and will provide turnkey services for energy efficiency upgrades within the program’s target sectors that demonstrate high peak energy usage for a select group of measures². This program design also allows for a wide range of energy efficiency opportunities where code and industry standard practice baseline requirements are not applicable.

Please note, projects that will take more than 14-30 days to install and commission may not fit into the program’s scope of work and should consider other energy efficiency program offerings.

Program Design

SRP is designed to compensate Trade Professionals on a pay-for-performance basis, contingent upon the total system benefits achieved by installed projects using actual, meter-based energy savings which are then compared against similar industry peers to identify incremental savings beyond normal operating conditions. A Population Normalized Metered Energy Consumption (NMEC)³ approach to measurement and verification identifies energy savings beyond normal operating conditions to assess performance payments tied to anticipated grid benefits, based on the hourly avoided cost value of projects (adjusted for program administration costs).

Each project within a portfolio will have its performance calculated three times per year (for one year), and a Trade Professional’s collective portfolio performance will be paid out. SCE will compensate Trade Professionals based on the performance of their portfolio (group of projects) over three 4-month periods in a total of three payments. The combined total of each of the three payments will be based on the confirmed Total System Benefits utilizing ex-post savings measured at the meter (adjusted for program administration and other costs). This process requires data modeling and analysis which is performed by SCE’s Measurement & Verification (M&V) partners. Trade Professionals are compensated based on the actual energy savings they deliver, offering a “pay-for-performance” compensation structure that reduces costs to ratepayers. 

The SRP application includes an interactive savings estimation tool that will assist Trade Professionals in estimating a project’s energy savings and compensation value if the project performs as expected.

Benefits of SRP

The program has been designed with a streamlined application and review process that will allow projects to be approved and installed within a reduced timeframe. Pre- and post- site audits are also not required (SCE may, as part of its quality assurance framework, select a random sample of projects to confirm technologies were installed and commissioned).
 
The Summer Reliability Program offers a whole building approach² to energy efficiency where individual measures are rolled into energy savings on a building level (based on the utility revenue meter). SRP is also a pay-for-performance program that compensates Trade Professionals based on their success in implementing energy efficiency projects at a customer's site that permanently reduces’ energy usage during the periods below as well as providing energy savings throughout the year. They also have the discretion to vary incentives to optimize customer enrollment. 

• Net-Peak hours: 4-7 P.M. on business days between June 1-September 30 
• Peak hours: 7-9 P.M. on business days between June 1-September 30 
• Non-Peak hours: All other hours

With this program design, incentives can be higher than those in traditional energy efficiency programs.

Eligibility

The program’s commercial target sectors are based on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and were identified due to their alignment with the program’s Population NMEC measurement approach including their homogeneous energy usage profiles compared to similar groups within the same industry sector and likewise, high savings potential. 

The target sectors include:

• Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores
• Limited-Service Restaurants
• Department Stores
• Drugs and Druggists' Sundries Wholesalers
• New Car Dealers
• Pharmacies and Drug Stores
• Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores
• Warehouse Clubs and Superstores
• Convenience Stores
• Other Grocery and Related Product Wholesalers
• Home Centers
• and Indoor Horticulture

SRP does allow for the submittal of commercial projects outside the target list, however, this will require an extended review period and may be declined if the necessary criteria are not met to conduct a Population NMEC analysis.

Residential target sectors include: 

• Single Family Homes
• Manufactured Mobile Homes

Typical Energy Efficiency Measures

Commercial measures may include (but are not limited to):

• Lighting
• HVAC
• Refrigeration
• Retrocommissioning

Residential (single-family home, manufactured mobile home) measures may include (but are not limited to):

• Lighting
• HVAC
• Whole House Fan

More Information and Fact Sheet

Summer Reliability Program Fact Sheet

If you are a vendor that would like to participate and are not currently registered in SCE’s Trade Ally network, you may go to the Trade Ally Community Portal page to learn more.

For additional information, email us to: SummerReliabilityProgram@sce.com, or call us at 1-800-736-4777.

¹ SCE does not endorse any Trade Professional or contractor listed on SCE’s Trade Pro website. SCE does not qualify, guarantee, or make any representations regarding the service, work, or financial stability of any Trade Professional listed. Trade Professionals are listed because the vendor elected to provide its company’s name and contact information and has met SCE’s limited criteria to become a Trade Professional, not because they are recommended or endorsed by SCE.  SCE shall not be liable for any actions or inactions of any Trade Professional. Customers who choose to participate in this program are not obligated to purchase any goods or services offered by the Trade Professional. The selection, purchase, and ownership of goods and/or services are the sole responsibility of the customer, and SCE encourages customers to obtain more than one bid or quote when seeking energy efficiency services. Any agreement between a customer and a vendor is exclusive of SCE and SCE is not a party or guarantor of that agreement.

² SCE has also contracted with Synergy Companies on a direct installation program to offer energy-saving products to eligible residential (single-family home and manufactured mobile home) customers. This offering is available in place of the whole building residential program being offered by Trade Professionals.

³ More information on Population NMEC, is available in the California Public Utilities Commission NMEC Handbook and SCE’s Summer Reliability Program Measurement and Verification Plan.

The Summer Reliability Program closed March 31, 2024, and is no longer accepting new projects and/or Trade Professional applications.