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Really free money

Live in California? You’re eligible to claim $300 in cash

Katie Overmonds
/
October 22, 2020

Psst! We want to let you in on a money-making hack that is earning Californians hundreds of dollars per year. If you haven’t already heard, there’s a program that will pay you $300 a year (or more!) for flicking off the lights, turning off your energy-sucking appliances and going outside for an hour.

Amazing, right?

If you have a utility account with Southern California Edison (SCE), PG&E, or SDG&E - the utilities that cover nearly every single county in California - read on, my friends.

OhmConnect is a free, secure service that will pay you to save energy when the grid is overwhelmed. These earning windows are called “#OhmHours” and during this time, your job is to simply use less power.

Go outside. Take the dog for a walk. Clean your home’s exterior. BBQ a meal outside or roast marshmallows by the fire. Whatever! If you can successfully reduce your energy usage, OhmConnect will pay you cash.

We promise - it’s not too good to be true. Check out this write up from FastCompany if you want proof.

Here’s how to get paid for saving energy:

  1. Sign up for a free OhmConnect account.
  2. Connect it with your online PG&E, SDG&E or SCE utility account. (You must have an online account with one of these electric companies to qualify for the program.)
  3. Receive power down notifications during “OhmHours” — high-energy-consumption hours that trigger dirty power plants to activate in order to support the overtaxed grid.
  4. Head outside (or at the very least, turn off the TV and other major energy-hogging appliances) until the OhmHour is up. Heck, you can even watch Netflix on a charged-up laptop or tablet if you want, just don’t turn on any major appliances.
  5. Get rewarded! OhmConnect rewards you for a job well done with cash payments or entries into epic giveaways.

OhmHours generally happen about once per week during which you can earn money, but not only that, you might also see a reduction in your electricity bill each month. You’re doing something good for the planet and your wallet - it’s a win-win-win! 

This is all possible because OhmConnect is paid by the California’s electricity market (or California ISO)  to help avoid turning on an expensive, dirty power plant by rallying its hundreds of thousands of customers to work together (People power > Power plants!). The company then passes those earnings on to you.

How to Get the Highest Earnings

How much you earn is based on how much electricity you save. The more you save, the higher your “status,” which helps you earn even more.

For example:

  • If your average reduction is more than 40% of what we expected you to use, you'll reach Platinum Status and earn a 15% discount on all rewards in the Rewards Marketplace.
  • If your average reduction is more than 80% of what was expected of you to use, you'll reach Diamond status and earn a 20% discount on all rewards in the Rewards Marketplace.

Your well-earned rewards will then wait for you to be cashed out, traded for gift cards or donated directly to the Sierra Club.

Hot tip:

If you want to make earning money as easy and profitable as possible, directly connect OhmConnect with any smart energy devices you already have in your home, like a smart plug or a smart thermostat. OhmConnect customers with smart devices like a thermostat or smart plug connected to their account earn ~3x the amount of Watts (on average) as folks without connected devices. 

Don’t miss out on this amazing read about how a California resident and avid OhmConnect user earned $487 a month by saving energy.

Happy earning!

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