Behind-the-Meter Strategies for a Resilient Grid

This session will feature Ava Community Energy’s perspective as a Community Choice Aggregator (CCA), sharing practical risk mitigation approaches, lessons learned, and real-world examples that highlight how to balance innovation with reliability. It will also examine how virtual power plants and distributed energy resources enhance grid flexibility, reliability, and customer value while accelerating the clean energy transition. The session will address the risks utilities face, from vendor defaults to revenue impacts and customer non-performance, and explore strategies to manage them effectively.

Sonnen, in partnership with Rocky Mountain Power / PacifiCorp / Berkshire Hathaway Energy, has developed the Wattsmart Virtual Power Plant, the largest direct utility operated (no DERMS) full grid services value stack battery VPP in the country, that is Dispatched on a daily basis – often multiple times per day. Wattsmart provides a national model for integrating behind-the-meter battery systems directly into utility operations, as a firm, automatic and dispatchable grid asset. This session will highlight how the Wattsmart program in Utah aggregates thousands of customer-owned batteries to enhance reliability, manage peak demand, and support renewable integration, as well as how these learnings are driving the expansion of sonnen’s fast-growing Virtual Power Plant network in other US markets. The session will also explore how, in developing authentic VPP models for the US market, sonnen has drawn from their vast experience leading Virtual Poer Plant development in the European Union, with > 150,000 homes and building energy systems dispatched on a regular basis, including highly advanced grid services. Speakers will share insights on program and overall VPP market design, customer engagement, and the operational intelligence enabling distributed storage to become a flexible, utility-managed resource.

This session will explore how VPPs leverage the aggregation and orchestration of DERs to create flexible, reliable capacity on the grid. By integrating customer-sited solar, battery storage, EV chargers, and other flexible loads, VPPs enable utilities to optimize existing infrastructure, improve grid resilience, and reduce reliance on traditional generation. Attendees will learn how VPPs help utilities manage investment risks, support clean energy integration, and enhance system reliability. The discussion will also highlight advanced digital platforms and AI-driven controls that make DER aggregation a powerful tool for the modern grid.

This session will highlight how Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association is supporting its member cooperatives in developing behind-the-meter resources, even without direct retail customer relationships. Attendees will learn how G&Ts can align policy, investment, and program design to empower local utilities to scale DERs and demand-side solutions. The discussion will explore the cooperative perspective on enabling grid flexibility, navigating regulatory complexity across multiple states, and ensuring that BTM resources strengthen both local reliability and system-wide resilience.

Focused on the market, tariff, and regulatory enablers of VPP growth

This session will explore emerging behind-the-meter storage models, highlighting SUN’s model tariff now shaping rulemaking efforts across multiple states. It will examine how Puerto Rico’s virtual power plant surged from 9,000 to more than 80,000 customers in a single year through automatic aggregator enrollment. The session will break down what makes these markets exemplary and what strategies can be replicated to accelerate distributed storage adoption nationwide.

Focused on financing, aggregation, and orchestration of distributed energy resources (DERs) using technology platforms.

This session will explore how Shadow Power’s BEAM platform finances, aggregates, and orchestrates resilient networks of distributed energy resources. It will discuss how bi-directional energy-as-a-service models, automated orchestration, and customer-centric enrollment pathways enable utilities and energy companies to optimize grid interactions, enhance reliability, and maximize asset value.

This session will describe how real-world dispatch results, customer response, and performance data are shaping Orange and Rockland Utilities’ virtual power plant strategy, informing program design, operational decision-making, and future VPP expansion.

This session will explore how utilities can leverage advanced software platforms and real-time analytics to integrate and manage distributed energy resources effectively. It will showcase tools for aggregating, forecasting, and dispatching customer-sited solar, storage, and flexible loads within virtual power plants, enabling greater grid flexibility and reliability. Attendees will learn how data-driven insights support operational optimization, risk management, and enhanced customer engagement, helping utilities maximize the value of behind-the-meter resources while accelerating grid modernization.