NBR: BGE Peak Rewards...

shoeboxx

I see so many people (who have peak rewards) complain about having little to no a/c on friday.  We have it, and yes, it got a little warm in our house friday, but I didn't notice it until say 6pm.  I was kicking myself in the butt, but hey, that is what I signed up for. 

I'm not trying to be snarky, but when exactly did people think BGE would cycle their a/c, when it's 75 degrees outside?  I can understand why some people are upset, like renters who are FORCED to have it, but I'm really confused.

Seriously, anyone have any insight, please explain it to me. 

autumnmichele

I signed up for the 50% shut off switch.  I keep my a/c on 72.  It was 81 in my house Friday night.  The best part about all of that is that on Thursday we had the same problem so, knowing I have an infant and how hot it was supposed to be the next couple of days, I called BGE Friday morning.  I told them I no longer want the switch and I was gaurentted that I WOULD NOT be cycled on Friday.  I was also told that they would come to my house on 8/3 to remove the switch.  As an additoinal precaution, they opted me out for Friday.  Well, none of that worked because we were cycled for over 6 hours and it was HOT!

conchgirl

friday was hellish for me too. We also signed up for the 50% cycle. I happened to be working from home that day. The air never "cycled" back on like it was suppose to, nor did it stop and return to normal at 6pm like our installation guy said. Also, we were told that the system wouldn't let the air go above 85 degrees (to keep my dog happy & alive) but at highest count, my thermostat read 94 degrees.

i also had called the previous day to opt out since 1)i knew it wwas going to be hot and they would do it 2) i would be working from home and 3) i had invited 20 wine club girlfriends over that evening. But they did not honor this early request as they said they would and it was 100% impossible to get a hold of anyone that day.

 it was a miserable and frustrating day/evening to say the least!

photo_nut

Some elderly people signed up for peak rewards, 100%, not knowing fully what it does - my mother is 70, there is nothing wrong with her, but she just doesn't read details anymore. Some elderly people were stuck in houses that went over 94 degrees for over 9 hours!  Yes that is what they signed up for, but I doubt they read the small print. And it can KILL them, if they didn't know what was going on, they would be sitting in a hot house waiting for the a/c to come back on, instead of getting the heck out. Old people are hard-headed like that.

#2 - we signed up for peak rewards, then went to wind power and only use BGE to carry our energy - we no longer are in the peak rewards program....BGE STILL cycled us anyway. Come on - I am getting no benefit from it. So I am freaking upset yes. If they give me back the money at some point, then I would be fine

That is my gripe - I didn't sign up for it, and got it anyway

FWIW - BGE said it would cut off for 6 hours during an event. Some people had no a/c for 9 or more hours. AND it uses MORE energy in the long run because people are turning up the air when the a/c does come back on and it's harder for the a/c to recover, thus using MORE energy to cool the house down.

I am glad your house only got a "little warm" but some houses I know got up to 95 or more inside the house. Not healthy for anyone, kids or elderly. If you had/knew an elderly person who had this happen, you would be very upset about it too

Aside from that - if you don't pay your bill, BGE is not allow to turn off your air during extreme temperatures, so why in the world is it okay for peak rewards? That kind of heat can KILL people. 

I am actually kind of annoyed with this post, if you don't know all the facts, you can't be annoyed with people who complained about the situation. It was a good idea, executed POORLY

shoeboxx

photo_nut:

Some elderly people signed up for peak rewards, 100%, not knowing fully what it does - my mother is 70, there is nothing wrong with her, but she just doesn't read details anymore. Some elderly people were stuck in houses that went over 94 degrees for over 9 hours!  Yes that is what they signed up for, but I doubt they read the small print. And it can KILL them, if they didn't know what was going on, they would be sitting in a hot house waiting for the a/c to come back on, instead of getting the heck out. Old people are hard-headed like that.

#2 - we signed up for peak rewards, then went to wind power and only use BGE to carry our energy - we no longer are in the peak rewards program....BGE STILL cycled us anyway. Come on - I am getting no benefit from it. So I am freaking upset yes. If they give me back the money at some point, then I would be fine

That is my gripe - I didn't sign up for it, and got it anyway

FWIW - BGE said it would cut off for 6 hours during an event. Some people had no a/c for 9 or more hours. AND it uses MORE energy in the long run because people are turning up the air when the a/c does come back on and it's harder for the a/c to recover, thus using MORE energy to cool the house down.

I am glad your house only got a "little warm" but some houses I know got up to 95 or more inside the house. Not healthy for anyone, kids or elderly. If you had/knew an elderly person who had this happen, you would be very upset about it too

Aside from that - if you don't pay your bill, BGE is not allow to turn off your air during extreme temperatures, so why in the world is it okay for peak rewards? That kind of heat can KILL people. 

I am actually kind of annoyed with this post, if you don't know all the facts, you can't be annoyed with people who complained about the situation. It was a good idea, executed POORLY

I apologize if my post came across negatively.  I was honestly asking why people who signed up for it, complained so much.  I know there are special circumstances and I appreciated all of the comments. 

I totally understand what you're saying, that's why I asked the question....to get a better understanding.  Also, I never said I was annoyed, just that I didn't understand. 

daisyterp

photo_nut:

#2 - we signed up for peak rewards, then went to wind power and only use BGE to carry our energy - we no longer are in the peak rewards program....BGE STILL cycled us anyway. Come on - I am getting no benefit from it. So I am freaking upset yes. If they give me back the money at some point, then I would be fine

That is my gripe - I didn't sign up for it, and got it anyway

just so you know, you may be on clean currents, but your energy is still delivered by BG&E and Peak Rewards is about lessening the load on the grid and wind power is delivered on the same grid.   It doesn't matter what the source of the electricity is, there is only so much room for transmission.  Also from what I have read w/ Clean Currents in MD, you are essentially buying wind credits- not actually using wind power- because due to the antiquated grid it's difficult to move that much energy that far (from wind farms in TX & CA to MD) w/o major losses- if that makes sense.

(I got into a huge fight about this on FB- can you tell?) my friend who is on Clean Currents was basically saying their power usage doesn't "count" or affect the grid and it does.

mrs. remy

If there were any doubts in my head about signing up for peak rewards before, they are cemented now. I sure understand why people signed up (to save $) but I really really do not like the idea of not having control over my thermostat. And I don't even keep it cold in my house.

autumn bliss

Just to share our experience...We signed up for 100% last year and would do it again for the savings we get each month during the warmer months. This is the first time we have been home during a cycle event as it is usually during a weekday and never at night or a weekend as BGE typically cycles offices instead of homes during those times. DH and DD were home during the shut off...it was from 11a-8p at our house on Friday and sure, they could have gone out and gotten into some AC but they didn't. They shut all the blinds, turned off the lights, and went down to the basement rec room with some fans....it got warm but never got above 85, which we were thankful for.