Largest ecosystem of distributed energy resources in North America: Expands EV and battery access for utilities
NEW YORK, April 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — This month, EnergyHub became the first distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS) provider to have more than one million distributed energy resources (DERs)—including smart thermostats, electric vehicles (EVs) and EV charging equipment, energy storage systems, water heaters, and more—under management. The company works with more than 60 utility clients across North America and hundreds of device partners to support DER-based virtual power plants (VPPs). VPPs are critical components of the resource stack, keeping the grid reliable and accelerating decarbonization.
“These devices collectively deliver 1.35 GW of flexibility across North America’s electrical grid, which is more than the generation capacity of a medium-sized nuclear power plant,” said EnergyHub CEO Seth Frader-Thompson. “One million devices is a key achievement in our mission to help utilities and their customers in their quest for a carbon-free, distributed energy future.”
Maintaining reliable energy service has grown more challenging as the country navigates extreme weather and heavier demand for electricity, but utilities are adapting by using the rapidly growing number of customer-owned DERs on the grid as flexible resources. In 2022, the number of EVs participating in EnergyHub programs increased more than 200 percent and the number of batteries increased more than 80 percent year-over-year. The exponential growth of connected DERs promises much-needed load flexibility as more renewables come online—but only if utilities can harness that flexibility when and where they need it with reliable VPPs.
Services and innovation are key to delivering flexibility at scale
EnergyHub partners with some of the largest utilities in North America, including Arizona Public Service (APS), DTE Energy, National Grid, Salt River Project (SRP), and others, deploying unique, customer-centric support services to scale client programs.
“Over the past five years, we’ve partnered with EnergyHub to build our Cool Rewards program into a key part of APS’s flexibility strategy,” said Kerri Carnes, Director of Customer to Grid Solutions at APS. “We can now call on more than 75,000 enrolled thermostats delivering 110 MW of reliable flexibility, helping us shift energy demand and incorporate more renewable power onto our smart grid.”
APS partners with EnergyHub’s DERMS and integrated support services including program management, marketing support, data analysis, partner management, and customer support. EnergyHub also manages the industry’s largest partner ecosystem. “We’re excited to continue to innovate with EnergyHub to find customer-focused energy solutions that bolster reliability and affordability on the path to a clean energy future,” said Carnes.
EnergyHub also works with SRP to reach limited to moderate-income customers with a kit program activated in partnership with Techniart/Resource Innovations. SRP was one of the first utilities to expand its Bring-Your-Own-Thermostat (BYOT) program to multi-family dwellings and small-to-medium businesses and can now call on more than 78,000 thermostats to deliver flexibility. “EnergyHub’s services help SRP meet our program goals of scale and deliver reliable grid-edge flexibility to our internal stakeholders,” said Eamonn Urey, SRP Product Manager.
For the U.S. to achieve 100 percent renewable energy by 2035, between one and two terawatts (TW) of power generation must be decarbonized. That transformation will only be possible when massive flexibility—on the order of 500 GW—is available to match demand to the variable nature of renewables.
About EnergyHub
EnergyHub is the leading grid-edge DERMS provider. Utilities rely on EnergyHub’s DERMS platform to manage all distributed energy resources to serve grid and market objectives. EnergyHub works with over 60 utilities in North America to manage more than 1.3 GW of flexible capacity. We empower utilities and their customers to create a clean, distributed energy future. For more information, visit www.energyhub.com
SOURCE EnergyHub
