PG&E Unveils Virtual Power Plant Initiative to Boost Affordability and Reliability
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has launched a virtual power plant initiative called SHARE, which aims to improve affordability and reliability by leveraging home energy devices. The program combines existing home batteries, smart devices, and battery-enabled heat pumps with new electrification technologies to reduce energy use during periods of high demand.
PGE will work with various partners including Rewiring America, Google, Carrier Global Corporation, Tesla, Sunrun, Renew Home, Demand Side Analytics, encoord, and others to deploy the VPP. The initiative is designed to demonstrate how targeted investments in homes can help improve reliability, lower costs, and expand capacity during periods of high demand.
The program will be fully funded by Google to support customer incentives, technology deployment, and program delivery. PG&E will lead planning, analysis, and validation to evaluate customer impacts, system performance, and long-term benefits.