Energy
Demand Response: Get Paid to Turn Off the AC
Programs like 'Peak Smart' are paying households to reduce usage during grid emergencies. It is the easiest money you will make this summer.
Imagine getting a text message: "Turn down your AC for 2 hours tonight and we'll give you $20." This is Demand Response, and in 2026, it has gone mainstream.
The Grid Emergency
On super-hot days, the grid struggles to cope. Instead of building expensive new power plants that run for 10 hours a year, operators prefer to pay you to use less.
How to Participate
Retailers like Origin (Spike) and AGL (Peak Energy Rewards) gamify this. You earn points or cash for beating your baseline usage. Smart thermostats and plugs can even automate this—turning off the pool pump or dimming the lights automatically when a "Demand Event" is triggered.
It is free money for flexible households, and it helps prevent blackouts.
Two Different Types of Demand Response
Not all demand response works the same way. Retailer-level programs (like the ones from Origin and AGL mentioned above) are opt-in: you get an app notification, you choose to respond, and you're rewarded with points, bill credits, or occasionally cash. Wholesale-level demand response happens behind the scenes through AEMO's Reliability and Emergency Reserve Trader (RERT) mechanism, where large commercial and industrial users are paid to curtail load during genuine supply emergencies — this rarely involves households directly, but it's part of why "demand response" keeps making headlines.
How Your Baseline Is Actually Calculated
The reward is only ever measured against your own recent usage pattern, not a fixed number. Retailers typically average your consumption from a handful of similar recent non-event days to set a "baseline," then pay you for the difference between that baseline and what you actually used during the event. This matters for two reasons: you can't inflate your baseline by deliberately using more power beforehand (most programs detect and exclude that), and households with genuinely flexible loads — pool pumps, hot water systems, EV chargers — have the easiest time earning meaningful credits, since those loads can be shifted without anyone noticing.
It's worth checking whether your retailer's program pays cash into your bank account or only issues bill credits — the value is the same, but cash is easier to track if you're trying to work out whether it's actually worth the hassle.
Checklist for Action
- Audit your current bills: Gather your last 12 months of statements for Energy.
- Compare the market: Use SaveNest's comparison tools to identify the top 3 cheapest providers in your area.
- Check for loyalty taxes: Call your current provider and ask them to match the best offer you found online.
- Verify concessions: Ensure you are receiving all state and federal rebates you are entitled to.
- Set a reminder: Mark your calendar for a 6-month review to ensures you stay on the best plan.
- Share the savings: Tell a friend or family member how much you saved to help them avoid the 'lazy tax' too.
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