"SmartCharge New York" "rewards"

[tls]

I just saw an advertisement -- here -- for "SmartCharge New York", a Con Edison-sponsored program which claims to reward EV owners for charging off-peak (with beefier rewards, during the summer months, for never ever charging on-peak within Con Edison's service area).

Rewards seem to basically boil down to $.05/kWh in "SmartCharge Rewards". Given the extreme cost of charging in New York City, getting a $.05/kWh rebate would certainly take some of the sting out. But:

• Does anyone know what these "SmartCharge Rewards" actually are? If they aren't cash-equivalent, they're likely of no use to me since I don't personally buy any goods or services directly from Con Ed.
• The mechanism for tracking charging seems to be a fob that would stay plugged into the diag port of my Model S at all times. I do worry about giving tracking and diagnostic information about my car to a non-Tesla 3rd party; have others gone for this before? How do you feel about it?
• What keeps people from gaming the system by simply unplugging the fob when charging at peak hours in the utility's service area (thus collecting the "never ever charged on-peak in summer" monthly bonus, currently $20)? If that happens in any large numbers, I'd expect this whole thing to be hastily withdrawn...

The SmartCharge New York site is pretty enough but perhaps unsurprisingly lacks detail about -- for example -- what the "...in SmartCharge Rewards" language really means (cash? green stamps? cracker-jack prizes?). Mostly wondering if someone else here has already signed up and can give the real lowdown on how it works.

 

[tls]

OK, I realized I'd missed a section of their FAQ. The answer on reward redemption is:

"SmartCharge RewardsTM are redeemed in the form of e-gift cards, allowing you to choose from assorted retailers like Amazon.com, Target, REI, The Home Depot, iTunes®, Starbucks, and Fandango to name a few. Or you can donate to nonprofits such as Habitat for Humanity, Clean Water Foundation and The Nature Conservancy."

If I can spend it on Amazon, it's basically cash-equivalent to me. Sounding better than I expected, honestly. Anyone already signed up for this or thinking of it and have thoughts on the other two questions?

 

[MP3Mike]

What keeps people from gaming the system by simply unplugging the fob when charging at peak hours in the utility's service area (thus collecting the "never ever charged on-peak in summer" monthly bonus, currently $20)? If that happens in any large numbers, I'd expect this whole thing to be hastily withdrawn...

Unplugging the fob probably triggers a flag on your account for review. In addition if you unplug the fob with the car charged at 20% and plug it back in charged to 90% they know you charged the car. They would also likely track the location of the plug/unplug and the odometer readings.

So I don't see that as being a problem.

 

[tnt1971]

The problem Coned has is that their infrastructure is so old throughout most of the outer boroughs. I work in Queens and frequently charge there during working hours (peak). I also have a business location in Brooklyn with high electric demand equipment. I have had many motors replaced because of low voltage conditions. I know someone in the Bronx who only gets 180-190 volts on a 220 line. I get 208 or less in the summer in Queens (about 213 in the winter).

Being that I don't have a personal account in Coned's territories, I probably will not be eligible. That, coupled with the refusal to upgrade the lines, and the highest electric rates I know of (about 25 cents a kWh), I will continue to charge when I damn well please.

 

[hkozinn]

I tried it. You attach this doohickey to your Tesla and it hogs the cellular data that you're receiving. The cell music and nav slowed significantly. I called Smartcharge about the problem. They indicated that there was an issue and they had a "workaround" I decided not to mess with it and opted out.

 

[Enadler]

Love this program! I have been signed up since May and have earned and spent over $280 with this program. Once installed I don't even realize it is there except when I get my monthly notification of my reward.

If you do sign up please use this referral code. SmartCharge New York | FleetCarma