Power Flex Initiative Engages Residential Customers in Peak Demand Management
Generac Grid Services today announced that it has been selected by Southern California Edison (SCE) as one of the Virtual Power Plant (VPP) providers for the company’s Power Flex program. The initiative empowers SCE residential customers to extend the value and return on investment of their residential solar PV and battery storage systems by enrolling them in a VPP designed to alleviate pressure on the power grid during times of peak demand.
By participating in the Power Flex program, homeowners can earn incentives by allowing some of the carbon-free electricity stored in their batteries to be dispatched when the electric grid is experiencing a power shortage. These customers can thereby earn money, while also helping the community prevent power outages and create a more sustainable grid. Generac Grid Services, through the use of its Concerto distributed energy resource management system (DERMS) platform, is recruiting and enrolling Generac solar PV and battery storage system owners for the VPP program.
When Generac Grid Services’ Concerto VPP platform detects a spike in demand that might otherwise require starting up a fossil fuel plant, the software sends a signal to the batteries to automatically dispatch clean energy based on real-time grid conditions.
“With increasing frequency, homeowners are installing solar plus battery storage systems to protect against power outages caused by factors like extreme weather or wildfires,” said Bud Vos, president of Generac Grid Services. “This program lets homeowners gain further benefit from these systems by orchestrating their collective energy flexibility into a VPP that directs power flow from where it’s available, to where it is needed, precisely when it is needed most.”
About Generac Grid Services
Generac Grid Services is a subsidiary of Generac Power Systems (NYSE: GNRC), a leading designer and manufacturer of energy technology solutions and other power products. Generac Grid Services is working to change the way the world generates and uses electricity. From turnkey solar + storage solutions, to backup generators, additional distributed energy resources and virtual power plant software, Generac Grid Services is helping to accelerate the world’s transition to a cleaner, more reliable power grid. Via the company’s energy-balancing platform, power generation and storage products that might otherwise sit idle are now able to be dispatched and orchestrated as part of a distributed energy solution, thereby generating value for the home or business owner, while also delivering value to the energy grid.