Another Texas TDU Exhausts Funds Under REP Low-Income Smart Energy Device Reimbursement Program

AEP Texas Central has informed the Texas PUC that it has exhausted all of the funds available under the program which reimbursed retail electric providers for providing free programmable communicating thermostats and in-home displays (collectively, in-home devices) to low-income customers

AEP Texas Central has originally designated $800,000 to fund the program, as part of its AMI implementation.

Under the program launched in January 2015, for providing an eligible low-income customer with an eligible programmable communicating thermostat (PCT) or in-home display (IHD) at no cost to the customer, a TDU reimburses the REP for the cost of a device up to a cap of $250, with an additional 25% for administrative costs, for a total reimbursement cap of $300 per device. For PCTs only, an additional $125 is reimbursed to cover the cost of installation.

AEP Texas Central is the third TDU to fully exhaust funds under the program (along with CenterPoint Energy Houston-Electric and Texas-0New Mexico Power). Oncor recently reported it had exhausted 90% of funds and expects to fully exhaust the funds when paying November invoices to REPs. Once Oncor exhausts its funds, AEP Texas North will be the only TDU with any program funds remaining available for REP reimbursement