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System Relief Program

Earn rewards for the power you don’t use

Participating customers receive financial incentives for committing to briefly reducing electricity use during peak periods of high energy demand. It’s a cost-effective way to reduce fossil fuel emissions, while also delaying or avoiding costly investments in additional energy infrastructure and power plants.

How to Enroll

You can apply through an aggregator who will directly enroll and oversee multiple customers, or an individual customer can enroll directly by pledging 50 kW or more of load relief. See a list of participating Load Aggregators.
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Program Specifics
All commercial and residential customers are eligible to participate. Customers who agree to provide a minimum of 50 kW or more can participate directly. All others can enroll through an approved aggregator. The program runs each year from May 1 – September 30, typically on very hot summer days. A reduction event is typically for three hours, from 4 PM to 7 PM, but is subject to change based on need.

Financial Incentives
Customers are eligible to receive two incentives. The first, a reservation payment, is based on the amount of energy they have pledged to reduce. There are additional performance payments for any   actual electric load reduction. Payment terms for customers participating through an aggregator are defined by the aggregator. Payments will depend on program participation, but to give an example: A customer participating directly with over 50 kW of load relief over the five months could earn up to $40,000 or more.

How Does it Work?
Like rush hour that strains our roads, overall energy use can reach a peak level that strains the energy grid. It can become necessary to build additional capacity into the system or even new power plants – like adding lanes to a highway. As you can imagine, that’s very costly. It’s far more cost-effective to reduce the use of power than to produce more of it. On the roads, one way to reduce the strain is with carpooling. Our program pools together customers who agree to reduce – and reward them for doing so. While this offers a direct benefit to you, everyone wins because the end result is a more efficient electric system running as smoothly as a finely tuned car on the open road. 

Aggregator Eligibility Requirements
Aggregators must meet certain requirements in order to participate in PSEG Long Island’s System Peak Relief Program (also known as the Commercial System Relief Program and the Distribution Load Relief Program). Download eligibility requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • How are participating customers notified of a power reduction event?
    PSEG Long Island will notify direct enrolled customers and aggregators by email at least 21 hours in advance of an event and then again two (2) hours before the event.
  • How can a customer enroll in the program?
    Customers of any load relief amount can choose to participate and enroll through an aggregator. They will advise, oversee, and act as your main contact for notifications and communications. Customers with 50 kW or more of load relief pledged can participate directly without an aggregator. The list of approved aggregators meeting program requirements can be found here.
  • Are there any costs or risks to participate?
    Your forecasted payment is based on your planned/committed reduction and there is no cost to you. However, if you are unable to meet that commitment, you will simply be paid for any demand reduction you are able to provide. The more kW reduced, the greater the opportunity to earn more. There is no special equipment necessary, and we will determine the load reduction during a curtailment period from the existing electric meter.
  • Can customers use existing on-site generators to make up for the reduced load during an event?
    Yes, you may use existing generation as long as it complies with the Commercial System Relief tariff specifications and all local codes. Please reference the electric tariff, which is available on our website.