Save On Energy Peak Perks FAQ

You can now add your virtual prepaid Mastercard® to your digital wallet.

If you are having difficulty signing up or logging into My Prepaid Center to claim your virtual prepaid Mastercard®, please contact My Prepaid Center at 1-888-371-2109.

• Peak Perks™ rewards residential electricity consumers who own an eligible smart thermostat for reducing their energy use when demand for electricity in Ontario is high during the summer months. This helps to reduce stress on the electricity grid and ensure a reliable supply of electricity for you and your community.

• Participants agree to brief adjustments of up to two degrees Celsius to their thermostats up to 10 times during peak periods of electricity demand from June 1 to September 30.

• These adjustments to your thermostat typically last no more than three hours and will not occur on weekends or holidays.

• Prior to an event, your thermostat may be adjusted down slightly to pre-cool your home so that you remain comfortable while an event is taking place.

• Once an event ends, your thermostat will return to its original temperature setting.

To be eligible to participate in Peak Perks, you must:

• Be a residential electricity customer in Ontario* with central air conditioning that is controlled by your smart thermostat. Heat pumps that are part of central air conditioning are also eligible.

• Use an eligible, internet-connected thermostat to control your central air conditioning

• Not be participating in any other residential demand response program in Ontario where your thermostat is automatically adjusted to maintain reliability of the electricity grid

• Be a residential customer in a single-family home.

* Electricity customers who reside in Cornwall, Ontario are connected to the Hydro Quebec electricity grid and therefore are not eligible to participate in Peak Perks.

• When you enroll in Peak Perks, you will receive a $75 virtual prepaid Mastercard® that will be sent to you at the email address used to sign up for the program. You will receive the prepaid card within 60 days of being accepted into the program.

• You will then receive a $20 virtual prepaid Mastercard® in 2025 for your continued participation in that year if you enrolled before September 30, 2024.

• Your virtual prepaid Mastercard® will be sent to the email address used to register in the Peak Perks program. It will be sent from the peakperks@redeem.energyhub.com email address. You should add this address to your address book/whitelist to ensure that you receive the incentive email.

• The incentive is capped at three devices per eligible address. A home with a fourth device could still enroll in Peak Perks, but the fourth thermostat would not be eligible for the program and annual incentives.

• Please note that the virtual prepaid Mastercard® expires within six months after it is issued to you.

Additional smart thermostat makes and models may be eligible to participate in the program in 2024. Please check back regularly for updates.

• You can enroll in the Peak Perks program by visiting the program enrollment page, answering some questions and selecting your thermostat provider. You can also enroll through your thermostat provider’s mobile app or directly on your thermostat.

• After you have applied, you will receive notification of your enrollment status to the email address provided in your account registration. Once your eligibility is confirmed, you will be enrolled in the program. If you encounter any difficulty enrolling, please contact us at info@peakperks.ca.

• Before an event begins, you may receive notifications depending on the settings in your smart thermostat app.

• Depending on your thermostat provider, notifications may also appear on the thermostat.

• If pre-cooling is used, your thermostat may be adjusted down by one degree for 30 minutes prior to the event. This is to help ensure your comfort during the event.

• At the start of an event, your thermostat will be automatically adjusted up to two degrees Celsius above the current temperature setting.

• The event will last no more than three hours on non-holiday weekday afternoons. Once the event is over, your thermostat will return to its normal setting.

You are always in control – you can opt out at any time during an event from your mobile device, or by simply adjusting your smart thermostat back to your desired comfort level.

Yes. During an event, you can opt out directly from your thermostat or in your thermostat manufacturer’s web/mobile application.

If you no longer wish to participate in Peak Perks, please send an email to info@peakperks.ca, requesting to end your participation in the program. Once you have been unenrolled in the program, your thermostat will no longer be part of activations. You will not receive the annual participation incentive when you unenroll from the program.

Yes, we’ll automatically mail you a physical prepaid Mastercard® if you don’t activate your virtual incentive within 14 days. No action is required.

Yes, the Peak Perks program will be collecting smart thermostat data and energy use in accordance with the terms and conditions of the program.

No, the program is currently offered to single-family homes and not to multi-unit condos or apartments.

Yes, if all other program requirements are met, renters may participate in the Peak Perks™ program.

No, you will not receive an additional enrollment incentive.

Yes, a new owner can get a new enrollment incentive as long as they've set up their own thermostat account and the thermostat in question has been unenrolled.

No. If you replace your thermostat with an updated model or a new thermostat from a different brand, you will continue to participate in the program with your new thermostat, but you will not be eligible for a new enrollment incentive. You will still receive an annual incentive for your continued participation.

Yes, you may enroll multiple properties in the Peak Perks program if all program requirements are satisfied. The incentive is capped at three devices per eligible address. A home with a fourth device could still enroll in Peak Perks, but the fourth thermostat would not be eligible for the enrollment and annual incentives.

Peak demand is when consumer demand for electricity is at its highest. In Ontario, this typically occurs in the afternoon during the summer months – the hottest part of the day, when air conditioning is being used. The Peak Perks program rewards you for reducing your energy use during these peak electricity demand periods to help reduce stress on the electricity grid and ensure a reliable supply of electricity for you and your community.

Participating in Peak Perks is an easy way to be rewarded for managing your electricity consumption and costs at home. Not only will you be financially rewarded, you are helping your community and the province by reducing stress on the grid on the hottest days. By taking part in Peak Perks, you are supporting a brighter Ontario by contributing to a reliable, affordable and sustainable grid.

Save on Energy is working with authorized third parties, EnergyHub and EnergyHub’s service providers Choice Digital and Blackhawk Network, to administer certain elements of the Peak Perks program. You may receive updates or responses to email inquiries from EnergyHub, Choice Digital, or Blackhawk Network on behalf of Save on Energy. You will be prompted to sign up for the My Prepaid Center application operated by Blackhawk Network to redeem your virtual prepaid Mastercard®. These are legitimate email communications from Save on Energy program representatives and My Prepaid Center is supporting the incentive fulfillment function for Peak Perks. If in doubt about any Peak Perks-related communications, please contact us at saveonenergy@ieso.ca.

• Peak Perks and Hydro One’s myEnergy Rewards program are both residential demand response programs through which your smart thermostat is automatically adjusted to help maintain the reliability of the electricity grid.

• The Peak Perks program is available to residential customers across Ontario regardless of who is their local electric utility provider. myEnergy Rewards is only available to Hydro One’s residential customers.

• Hydro One customers have the option to sign up for myEnergy Rewards, or they can sign up for the Peak Perks program. The choice is theirs. Customers are encouraged to review the program rules for both programs to inform their decision.

• To be eligible to participate in Peak Perks, you cannot be actively enrolled in any other residential demand response program in Ontario, including Hydro One’s myEnergy Rewards demand response program.

• Hydro One customers can learn more about myEnergy Rewards by visiting the program page.

Save on Energy does not call, contact, or come to the homes of residential consumers to solicit participation in our programs, including Peak Perks. If you receive a call or home visit from someone claiming to represent Save on Energy, please exercise caution and contact us at saveonenergy@ieso.ca to report any fraudulent activity.

• In some cases, when a customer attempts to activate their gift card, they may receive a message from Blackhawk Network Support (BHN) asking them for a government-issued ID.

• Blackhawk Financial uses this security measure to prevent potentially fraudulent requests.

• You have two options to resolve this issue:

  • You can provide the requested ID to confirm your identity and proceed with the transaction.

  • You can email info@peakperks.ca and request a new gift card to be sent to you.

• Peak Perks, which is administered by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) under the Save on Energy brand, is committed to the protection of personal information in accordance with all applicable privacy laws. Individuals who elect to participate in the Peak Perks program will be fully informed about what personal information will be collected and how it will be used by EnergyHub and Blackhawk Network. Your informed consent will be obtained prior to informing your smart thermostat provider that you are participating in the program and before collecting any information needed to estimate energy savings collected from your smart thermostat provider. This information will be accessible only to the IESO and its authorized program delivery partner, EnergyHub.

• The IESO maintains robust safeguards to protect against the unauthorized collection, use, disclosure and disposal of personal information in its custody or under its control. The IESO requires its program delivery partners who collect or process personal information on the IESO’s behalf to provide equivalent safeguards. Please refer to the program terms and conditions or contact us directly at saveonenergy@ieso.ca if you have any questions about how the information you provide as part of participating in Peak Perks will be used.

For more information about participating in Peak Perks, please visit the program page, email info@peakperks.ca, or call (877) 793 - 7375.