New York County Launches ‘GridRewards’ Program, Offers Cash for Energy Efficiency

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Sustainable Westchester, a nonprofit consortium of Westchester municipalities, has partnered with Logical Buildings to launch its GridRewards campaign.

GridRewards allows eligible energy users in Westchester County, NY to receive cash rewards from participating in Con Edison’s demand response programs, while also digitally assisting participants to reduce their monthly energy bill and make an overall positive environmental impact through the reduction of their energy usage and carbon footprint.

GridRewards leverages new Con Edison smart meters as the data backbone for Logical Buildings’ gamified mobile app SmartKit AI, which encourages Westchester customers to perform simple energy efficiency activities in unison. According to Sustainable Westchester, using GridRewards lets individuals and businesses across the county to collectively contribute to a more reliable grid and provide grid relief when energy usage is peaking.

How it works

Logical Buildings leverages the Green Button initiative to automatically connect smart meter data to its app, SmartKit AI. Once authorization and onboarding are complete, users can immediately download the SmartKit AI app to get customized energy efficiency insights to help them understand and reduce their energy usage and carbon footprint.

In addition to lowering their monthly energy bill, users can also earn money by taking digitally guided actions to reduce energy usage when Con Edison triggers a demand response event. When energy use is peaking on the grid, Con Edison will pay individuals and businesses cash to help lower that peak and save on investing in additional infrastructure.

New York’s energy management push

New York has made recent strides when it comes to energy efficiency and storage. Just last month, we reported that energy storage deployments in New York have grown faster than anticipated since the state began a major push in 2018, according to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced in 2018 that the state had set an energy storage target of 1.5 gigawatts by 2025. The goal is to reach 3.0 gigawatts by 2030. Bridge incentives worth $350 million were authorized to help accelerate New York’s energy storage market.