The Program is offered in the Province of Ontario by the IESO and administered and delivered by its Service Provider(s) under the 2021-2024 Conservation and Demand Management Framework established by the directive issued to the IESO by the Minister of Energy dated September 30, 2020 (as amended by a further directive issued to the IESO dated October 4, 2022) to design, coordinate, deliver and/or fund the delivery of certain electricity conservation and demand management programs under the Save on Energy brand.
The Program provides a Participant with financial incentives (defined below as “Participant Incentives”) for agreeing to enable temporary reductions of the electricity consumed by their air conditioner through remote activations of the Participant’s existing smart thermostat during a Demand Response Availability Window, to help deliver peak demand reductions to Ontario’s electricity grid. The aggregate number of hours in a calendar year during which a Participant’s air conditioner will be remotely activated in connection with the Program to reduce electricity consumption will not exceed eighty (80) hours.
Through the Program, a Participant authorizes its Smart Thermostat Vendor to control the Participant’s Eligible Smart Thermostat during a Demand Response Event. Any adjustments to a Participant’s Eligible Smart Thermostat, and any related collection of data by the Smart Thermostat
Vendor, are subject to the terms and conditions and privacy policy of the Smart Thermostat Vendor that governs a Participant’s purchase or use of the applicable Eligible Smart Thermostat and the authorizations that a Participant grants to the Smart Thermostat Vendor pursuant to these Terms. The IESO accepts no responsibility for and disclaims any liability for any act or omission of the Smart Thermostat Vendor(s).
During a Demand Response Event, the Participant’s Smart Thermostat Vendor may signal the Participant’s Eligible Smart Thermostat to change its mode of operation, setpoint or other settings, as applicable. A Demand Response Event may be preceded by a “pre-cool” period, wherein the then-current or scheduled target temperature setpoint is temporarily changed to prepare for the subsequent adjustment. A Participant may opt out of a current or future Demand Response Event at any time by directly adjusting the Eligible Smart Thermostat.
(2) violating these Terms or the terms of your customer agreement with the Smart Thermostat Vendor. Any false information provided within the context of the Program by you is a violation of these Terms and may result in your immediate unenrollment from the Program and forfeiture of any Participant Incentive.
“Demand Response Event” means, in respect of a Demand Response Availability Window, the remote activation of the Participant’s existing thermostat to temporarily change its set-point in order to reduce the electricity consumed by the Participant’s air conditioner during a period of peak demand on some or all of Ontario’s electricity grid, as determined by the IESO and communicated by the IESO or its Service Provider(s) to the Smart Thermostat Vendor.
“Demand Response Availability Window” means a time window typically between 12pm and 7pm on weekdays for a maximum of 3 hours at a time from June 1 to September 30 in a given calendar year.
“Eligible Smart Thermostat” means a thermostat made available by the Smart Thermostat Vendor, which is on the Eligible Smart Thermostat List and which can be monitored and operated during the Program by the Smart Thermostat Vendor’s network operations center.
“Eligible Smart Thermostat List” means the list of Smart Thermostats, as updated from time to time by the IESO and published on the Program Website.
“EnergyHub” means EnergyHub Canada ULC.
“Participant” means an applicant who has been accepted into the Program.
“Participant Incentive” or “Participant Incentives” means a one-time incentive of $55 and an annual incentive of $20 covering the period October 1st until September 30th. A new Participant in the Program who enrolls between:
January 1st and September 30th of a given year will receive an initial payment of $75 (in respect of such one-time incentive and the first annual incentive), and if they remained continuously enrolled in the Program, they will become eligible to receive additional annual incentives of $20 on May 1st of the following year and each subsequent yearly anniversary thereafter; or
October 1st and December 31st of a given year will receive an initial payment of $75 (in respect of such one-time incentive and the first annual incentive), and if they remained continuously enrolled in the Program, they will not become eligible to receive additional annual incentives of $20 until May 1st of the second year following their enrollment and each subsequent yearly anniversary thereafter.
Entitlement to, and payment of, Participant Incentives is subject to these Terms.
“Program” means the Save on Energy Peak Perks Program.
“Program Eligibility Criteria” means the eligibility criteria for participation in the Program (including in relation to Participants, facilities, measures and costs) as set out in the Program Requirements.
“Program Requirements” means, collectively, the Save on Energy Peak Perks Program Requirements and any other terms and conditions governing the Program published on or accessible through the Program Website, as may be amended from time to time.
“Program Website” means the IESO’s Save On Energy website at http://www.peakperks.ca.
“Residential” means electricity consumers in Ontario that are classified as residential in the most recent Yearbook of Electricity Distributors published by the Ontario Energy Board.
“Service Provider” means one or more service providers (and their respective affiliates) retained by the IESO to administer and deliver the Program on behalf of the IESO.
“Single Family Residence” means a detached, semi-detached, duplex, triplex, row house or townhouse for single-family dwelling located in Ontario.
“Smart Thermostat Vendor” means the manufacturer of your existing Eligible Smart Thermostat.
“Terms” means these Participant Terms and Conditions.
You represent and warrant that:
you are an individual 18 years or older;
you are a Residential consumer residing in a Single Family Residence;
you have central air conditioning in the Single Family Residence that is controlled by an existing Eligible Smart Thermostat installed in the Single Family Residence that is connected to the Smart Thermostat Vendor’s platform through a continuous connection;
you are the account holder of the existing Eligible Smart Thermostat and maintain an active account in good standing;
you are not enrolled in and have not committed to participating in any other demand response program offered in Ontario that is intended to meet provincial system needs in respect of the same calendar year(s) as your participation in the Program;
you haven’t received a Participant Incentive for the same calendar year under this Program in respect of the same Eligible Smart Thermostat; and
you agree to and will comply with these Terms.
You acknowledge and agree that the IESO may subcontract any of its responsibility under the Program to one or more Service Providers, including EnergyHub.
You represent and warrant that you have not received, or will not apply to receive, incentives through any other program in Ontario related to any of the demand response activities covered by the Program during any calendar year in which you are a Participant in the Program.
You acknowledge and agree that: (i) you have independently assessed the risk of participating in the Program; and (ii) the IESO and its Service Provider(s) make no representation or warranty, and assume no liability with respect to energy cost savings or other benefits, quality, safety, performance, fitness for a particular purpose or other aspect of any Eligible Smart Thermostat or Demand Response Event and expressly disclaim any such representation, warranty or liability.
You agree to participate in any surveys, studies, audits or other evaluations, measurement or verification activities conducted by the IESO or its Service Providers in connection with the Program, including for the purpose of proper administration, monitoring and verification of these Terms or evaluation of the Program, and upon receiving reasonable notice will provide to the IESO, reasonable access to your records and premises, if applicable, for such purposes.
determines. You further acknowledge and agree that the IESO may direct you to take such actions and do all such things necessary to certify, obtain, quantify and register with the relevant authorities or agencies such Environmental Attributes for the purpose of transferring, assigning, or holding in trust, such Environmental Attributes to and for the IESO. You shall comply with any such directions, and will be entitled to reimbursement of the cost of complying with such direction, provided that the IESO, acting reasonably, has approved such cost in writing prior to the cost being incurred by you.
You acknowledge and agree that the IESO is not-for-profit corporation without share capital established under the Electricity Act, 1998. The Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998 and section 6 of the Electricity Act, 1998, gives the IESO the authority to collect, use and disclose personal information related to your participation in the Program. IESO complies with the privacy protection rules contained in Ontario’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“FIPPA”).
You consent to the IESO collecting and using information about you in order to:
You consent to the IESO and its Service Provider(s) sending you emails, text messages and other notifications related to the Program, including about your enrollment status and surveys about the Program.
You acknowledge and agree that information about you in respect of the Program is primarily collected by the IESO directly from you, including during your participation in the Program, if you contact the Program by email at info@peakperks.ca or by calling the Program phone line at the number made available on the Program Website, and during any evaluation, customer satisfaction surveys, and IESO led-research activities conducted by the IESO in connection with the Program. Information collected directly from you may include, but is not limited to: your name; address; contact information; utility; availability of Wi-Fi; thermostat type and mode; and past participation and potential future interest in energy efficiency and conservation and demand management programs.
If you contact the Program phone line or Program email address, the IESO will collect the information you disclose so that it can respond to your questions and comments. The IESO may make an audio recording of your call for quality control and training purposes.
You consent to the IESO or its Service Provider(s) disclosing information about you and your participation in the Program (including your name; address; opt-in and opt-out status; and control of thermostat) to your Smart Thermostat Vendor so that they can: (i) report to the IESO or its Service Provider(s) on whether you have an Eligible Smart Thermostat that is enabled to provide demand response services; and (ii) signal to your Eligible Smart Thermostat to change its mode of operation, setpoint, or other settings, as applicable in response to a Demand Response Event; and (iii) provide information to the IESO about the operation of your Eligible Smart Thermostat during a Demand Response Event.
You consent to the IESO indirectly collecting from your Smart Thermostat Vendor information about your Eligible Smart Thermostat and your participation in the Program, including information you provide when applying to the Program and information that will allow the IESO to understand the operation of your Eligible Smart Thermostat during a Demand Response Event, including whether you opted-out during the event and information related to the electricity consumed by your air conditioner during the event (“Program Data”). Information that the IESO may indirectly collect for these purposes includes the length of time your thermostat was set to participate in a Demand Response Event, HVAC runtime, estimated average baseline electricity consumed by your air conditioner and estimated electricity consumed by your air conditioner during the event.
You acknowledge and agree that:
the IESO will confirm that you are eligible to participate in the Program; and
The IESO may disclose information about you and your participation in the Program for regulatory or audit purposes or as otherwise permitted by law, including to the Ministry of Energy and the Ontario Energy Board (and their successor entities).
Upon written request, the IESO will provide you with access to your personal information collected by the IESO and you will have an opportunity to request that the IESO update or correct your information. These rights are subject to FIPPA, and certain exemptions may apply such as when disclosure would reveal someone else’s personal information.
Customers can contact info@peakperks.ca for program inquiries.
If you would like to access, update or correct your personal information, or if you have any questions or concerns about IESO’s privacy practices, your personal information or administration of the FIPPA, you may contact IESO at:
Independent Electricity System Operator Attention: Privacy Officer
120 Adelaide Street West, Suite 1600 Toronto, ON M5H 1T1
Fax: 416-969-6383
For information about IESO’s general information practices, you may access IESO’s privacy policy at www.ieso.ca/en/privacy.
You authorize your Smart Thermostat Vendor(s) to (i) collect your Program Data;
(ii) disclose your Program Data to the IESO for the purposes described above; (iii) control your Eligible Smart Thermostat(s) during a Demand Response Event; and
(iv) communicate with you electronically in respect of your participation in the Program. You acknowledge and agree that any Program-related adjustments to your Eligible Smart Thermostat(s), and any related collection of data by the Smart Thermostat Vendor(s), are subject to the terms and conditions of the Smart Thermostat Vendor, including the Smart Thermostat Vendor’s privacy policy, that governs your purchase or use of the applicable Eligible Smart Thermostat.
You acknowledge and agree that the IESO accepts no responsibility for and disclaims any liability for any act or omission of the Smart Thermostat Vendor, including any collection, use, disclosure or other processing of any personal information.
your participation in the Program is based upon your own assessment of the Program and the implications of adjustments being made to your Eligible Smart Thermostat;
the IESO and its Representatives each make no representation or warranty, and assume no liability with respect to (and disclaim any liability in respect of): (i) any act or omission of your Smart Thermostat Vendor; (ii) any collection, use,disclosure or other processing of your information by your Smart Thermostat Vendor; (iii) energy cost savings and other benefits (or a failure to achieve any such savings or benefits) in connection with the Program; and (iv) any injury or damage that may result from participation in the Program.
The IESO and its Representatives each disclaim all representations, warranties and conditions, express, implied, statutory or otherwise, regarding any matter, including any implied warranties or conditions of quality, workmanship, safety, legal compliance or fitness for a particular purpose in connection with the Program.
These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein, without regard to applicable principles of conflicts of law. Any failure to enforce any term of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.
If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, all remaining provisions of these Terms will remain in full force and effect.
This agreement will enure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Participant, their heirs, representatives, successors and permitted assigns.
This agreement may not be assigned by you to another person except with the prior written consent of the IESO, which consent may be unreasonably withheld or delayed.
The IESO and its Service Provider(s) are not responsible for the policies, actions, or inactions of others that might prevent the Participant from enrolling in, participating in, or claiming a Participant Incentive under the Program.
These Terms constitute the entire agreement between the IESO and a Participant relating to the Program and supersedes all other such prior or contemporaneous oral and written agreements and understandings.
Both you and IESO will comply, in all material respects, with all laws and regulations required to be complied with in the performance their respective obligations hereunder.
All provisions of these Terms which expressly or by their nature survive the termination of this agreement shall continue in full force and effect until they are satisfied or by their nature expire.
By signing these Terms, you acknowledge and agree that:
You have read, understand, and agree to the terms and conditions of these Terms.
Your acceptance of these Terms in accordance with section 20 does not guarantee that you are eligible to be a Participant in the Program.