PG&E Launches Seasonal Aggregation of Versatile Energy (SAVE) Virtual Power Plant Program
PG&E (PCG) has launched the Seasonal Aggregation of Versatile Energy (SAVE), a first-of-its-kind virtual power plant program to enhance local grid reliability. The demonstration program will include up to 1,500 electric residential customers with battery storage systems and 400 customers with smart electric panels.
The VPP will operate for up to 100 hours from June through October 2025, focusing on peak demand periods. Working with aggregators Sunrun and SPAN, the program will utilize Tesla's grid services platform and SPAN's Dynamic Service Rating™ technology to manage home energy demand. The program targets areas with potential summer peak overloading, with 60% of participants from disadvantaged or low-income communities.
The initiative is funded through PG&E's Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) program, concentrating on the South Bay Area and Central Valley regions. Participating homes will maintain a minimum 20% battery backup reserve for power outages while contributing to grid stability.
PG&E (PCG) ha lanciato il programma di Aggregazione Stagionale di Energia Versatile (SAVE), un programma di centrale elettrica virtuale senza precedenti per migliorare l'affidabilità della rete locale. Il programma dimostrativo includerà fino a 1.500 clienti residenziali elettrici con sistemi di accumulo di energia e 400 clienti con pannelli elettrici intelligenti.
La VPP opererà per un massimo di 100 ore da giugno a ottobre 2025, concentrandosi sui periodi di picco della domanda. Collaborando con gli aggregatori Sunrun e SPAN, il programma utilizzerà la piattaforma di servizi di rete di Tesla e la tecnologia Dynamic Service Rating™ di SPAN per gestire la domanda energetica domestica. Il programma si rivolge a aree con potenziali sovraccarichi estivi, con il 60% dei partecipanti provenienti da comunità svantaggiate o a basso reddito.
L'iniziativa è finanziata attraverso il programma Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) di PG&E, concentrandosi sulle aree del South Bay e della Central Valley. Le case partecipanti manterranno una riserva di backup della batteria di almeno il 20% per le interruzioni di corrente, contribuendo alla stabilità della rete.
PG&E (PCG) ha lanzado el programa de Agregación Estacional de Energía Versátil (SAVE), un programa de planta de energía virtual sin precedentes para mejorar la fiabilidad de la red local. El programa de demostración incluirá hasta 1.500 clientes residenciales eléctricos con sistemas de almacenamiento de baterías y 400 clientes con paneles eléctricos inteligentes.
La VPP funcionará durante un máximo de 100 horas de junio a octubre de 2025, centrándose en los períodos de máxima demanda. Trabajando con los agregadores Sunrun y SPAN, el programa utilizará la plataforma de servicios de red de Tesla y la tecnología Dynamic Service Rating™ de SPAN para gestionar la demanda energética del hogar. El programa se dirige a áreas con potencial de sobrecarga en verano, con el 60% de los participantes provenientes de comunidades desfavorecidas o de bajos ingresos.
La iniciativa está financiada a través del programa Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) de PG&E, concentrándose en las regiones de South Bay y Central Valley. Las casas participantes mantendrán una reserva mínima de respaldo de batería del 20% para cortes de energía, contribuyendo a la estabilidad de la red.
PG&E (PCG)는 지역 그리드 신뢰성을 향상시키기 위해 최초의 가상 발전소 프로그램인 다목적 에너지의 계절 집합(SAVE)을 시작했습니다. 이 시범 프로그램은 배터리 저장 시스템을 갖춘 최대 1,500명의 전기 주거 고객과 스마트 전기 패널을 갖춘 400명의 고객을 포함합니다.
VPP는 2025년 6월부터 10월까지 최대 100시간 동안 운영되며, 피크 수요 기간에 집중합니다. Sunrun 및 SPAN과 협력하여 이 프로그램은 Tesla의 그리드 서비스 플랫폼과 SPAN의 Dynamic Service Rating™ 기술을 활용하여 가정의 에너지 수요를 관리합니다. 이 프로그램은 여름 피크 과부하 가능성이 있는 지역을 목표로 하며, 참여자의 60%가 불리한 또는 저소득 커뮤니티에서 나옵니다.
이 이니셔티브는 PG&E의 전기 프로그램 투자 요금(EPIC) 프로그램을 통해 자금을 지원받으며, South Bay 지역과 Central Valley 지역에 집중하고 있습니다. 참여하는 가정은 정전 시 전원 백업을 위해 최소 20%의 배터리 백업을 유지하며 그리드 안정성에 기여합니다.
PG&E (PCG) a lancé le programme d'Agrégation Saisonnière d'Énergie Polyvalente (SAVE), un programme de centrale électrique virtuelle sans précédent pour améliorer la fiabilité du réseau local. Le programme de démonstration comprendra jusqu'à 1 500 clients résidentiels électriques avec des systèmes de stockage de batteries et 400 clients avec des panneaux électriques intelligents.
La VPP fonctionnera pendant un maximum de 100 heures de juin à octobre 2025, en se concentrant sur les périodes de pointe de la demande. En collaboration avec les agrégateurs Sunrun et SPAN, le programme utilisera la plateforme de services de réseau de Tesla et la technologie Dynamic Service Rating™ de SPAN pour gérer la demande énergétique des foyers. Le programme cible des zones avec un potentiel de surcharge estivale, avec 60 % des participants provenant de communautés défavorisées ou à faible revenu.
L'initiative est financée par le biais du programme Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) de PG&E, en se concentrant sur les régions de South Bay et de Central Valley. Les foyers participants maintiendront une réserve de secours de batterie d'au moins 20 % pour les pannes de courant, tout en contribuant à la stabilité du réseau.
PG&E (PCG) hat das Programm zur saisonalen Aggregation vielseitiger Energie (SAVE) ins Leben gerufen, ein einzigartiges virtuelles Kraftwerksprogramm zur Verbesserung der Zuverlässigkeit des lokalen Stromnetzes. Das Demonstrationsprogramm wird bis zu 1.500 elektrische Haushaltskunden mit Batteriespeichersystemen und 400 Kunden mit intelligenten Elektroinstallationen umfassen.
Die VPP wird bis zu 100 Stunden von Juni bis Oktober 2025 betrieben, wobei der Fokus auf den Spitzenlastzeiten liegt. In Zusammenarbeit mit den Aggregatoren Sunrun und SPAN wird das Programm die Grid Services-Plattform von Tesla und die Dynamic Service Rating™-Technologie von SPAN nutzen, um die Energienachfrage der Haushalte zu steuern. Das Programm richtet sich an Gebiete mit potenziellen Sommerüberlastungen, wobei 60% der Teilnehmer aus benachteiligten oder einkommensschwachen Gemeinschaften stammen.
Die Initiative wird durch das Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) von PG&E finanziert und konzentriert sich auf die Regionen South Bay und Central Valley. Die teilnehmenden Haushalte werden eine Mindestreserve von 20% Batteriekapazität für Stromausfälle aufrechterhalten und zur Stabilität des Netzes beitragen.
- First-mover advantage in innovative grid management technology
- Program targets high-demand areas, potentially reducing infrastructure costs
- Strategic partnership with established tech companies (Tesla, Sunrun, SPAN)
- Focus on disadvantaged communities (60% participation) may attract ESG investors
- Program could lead to new revenue streams from grid services
- initial scale (only 1,900 total customers)
- Program requires significant technology investment and coordination
- Success depends on customer adoption and participation
- Short operational window (June-October) may limit program impact
Insights
PG&E's SAVE virtual power plant program represents a strategic investment in grid modernization that merits attention despite its initial scale. This demonstration will leverage 1,500 home battery systems and 400 smart panels to address localized grid constraints during critical summer peaks—essentially creating a distributed power resource from customer-owned assets.
The program's structure is technically innovative, implementing week-ahead dispatch signals to aggregators like Sunrun and SPAN who then optimize residential assets to support grid needs while maintaining customer backup reserves. This approach has several advantages over traditional infrastructure upgrades:
- Potentially lower capital requirements compared to substation or feeder upgrades
- More targeted response to localized constraints in high-load areas
- Creates operational flexibility without building fixed assets
The equity component is noteworthy, with
From an investor perspective, this represents sensible strategic positioning rather than material financial impact. The demonstration scale (just 1,900 customers) means this won't meaningfully affect near-term financials, but success could enable larger implementations, potentially deferring more costly traditional infrastructure investments while improving regulatory relationships.
First-of-its-kind, proactive peak load shifting and shaping program will dispatch residential home batteries and leverage smart home electrical panels to enhance local grid reliability
Working with multiple aggregators and the Demand Side Analytics research team, the demonstration program will include up to 1,500 electric residential customers with battery energy storage systems and up to 400 customers with smart electric panels. The VPP will be dispatched for up to 100 hours from June through October 2025, providing localized support by supplying battery power and load flexibility to selected neighborhoods during local peak demand periods when electric substations and feeder lines approach capacity limits.
"Virtual power plants play a significant role in
SAVE is a demonstration VPP in which PG&E provides participating aggregators, including Sunrun and SPAN, with week-ahead hourly signals informed by grid needs. These hourly signals indicate PG&E's energy capacity needs at a specific day, time, and duration, to allow aggregators to shift participating customers' usage to meet those needs. This innovative VPP will employ newly developed software from Tesla and SPAN to meet these needs.
The neighborhoods in which SAVE will be activated are spread across PG&E's service area, with a concentration of assets in the South Bay Area and the Central Valley. Factors influencing where SAVE is deployed include areas where there is potential for overloading during peak summer hours, where the participating aggregators have a concentration of customers, and where PG&E has determined it can test capabilities across diversified grid needs (varying load shapes). Additionally, SAVE has an explicit eye towards equity, with more than half (
SAVE is being conducted through PG&E's EPIC program, which enables
Sunrun Participation
Sunrun solar-plus-storage systems at customers' homes in Northern and
Sunrun will be responsible for managing battery dispatches, and all enrolled batteries will retain at least
"Customers with home batteries are a solution to alleviating strain on our electric grid," said Sunrun CEO Mary Powell. "We're experiencing a fundamental shift as homes are no longer just energy consumers. With storage and solar, they become powerful grid assets, delivering affordable, reliable power exactly when and where it's needed for communities and across the grid."
Sunrun will use an advanced application of Tesla's grid services platform to optimize Powerwall batteries to provide an exact amount of power at specific times to different locations. Similarly, Sunrun will leverage Lunar Energy's artificial intelligence-enabled forecasting through its Gridshare software platform to precisely dispatch various non-Tesla battery types to meet local grid needs.
SPAN Participation
SPAN will enroll customers with smart electric panels at homes in Northern and
SPAN will use its Dynamic Service Rating™ (DSR) capability to shape home energy demand during peak events, ensuring that aggregate energy usage remains within operational limits of PG&E's distribution infrastructure. SPAN customers can use their SPAN Home® App to adjust their preferences to reflect how the SPAN® Panel will manage appliances. As a result, SPAN customers have maximum flexibility to continue using the appliances they need most during peak hours while helping alleviate grid congestion.
"We are excited to participate in the SAVE program with PG&E to show how SPAN homes can contribute to grid resilience and increase the utilization of our existing infrastructure without sacrificing individual comfort," said Arch Rao, founder and CEO of SPAN. "We are uniquely positioned to engage households as partners in grid stability, transforming load growth from a challenge to manage into an asset that benefits all."
To learn more about PG&E's EPIC program and its various projects, visit www.pge.com/epic.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG), is a combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than sixteen million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and
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SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company
FAQ
How many customers will participate in PG&E's (PCG) SAVE virtual power plant program?
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