PLMA: Load Management Dialogues

Control vs. Cost: The Battle Between Virtual Power Plants and Dynamic Rates - The Battle Continues When electrification surges, grid constraints tighten and deployments of intermittent renewables grow, which creates a debate over how best to unlock load flexibility: via control or cost? Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) promise automated, orchestrated load control, while dynamic rates rely on price sign...

Launched in January 2024, Con Edison's SmartCharge Commercial Program is the nation's first managed-charging program that harmonizes rapidly growing EV charging demand with local grid constraints, while also creating a meaningful recurring value for customers. To date, this program has achieved 30+% market adoption with 340 enrolled sites representing 90 MW of capacity. Join us to learn...

Join us to learn how SDG&E supported a residential bi-directional EV charger installation coordinated by The Mobility House using a Wallbox Quasar 2 + 2025 Kia EV9. This partnership focused on working through complicated interconnection and permitting processes not originally designed for scaling V2G in the field. Our utility and vendor presenters will share their experiences and lessons learn...

In response to Puerto Rico's 2025 heatwave-driven energy emergency, grid operator LUMA integrated Tesla's Powerwall VPP and leveraged home batteries on the island to send power to the grid, providing immediate grid support and avoiding costly new infrastructure and other lengthy permit-requiring alternatives. Their approach benefited significantly from Puerto Rico's increasing rate...

Evergy has tapped Renew Home to help unlock flexible capacity when the grid needs it most – and without asking customers to change their routines or comfort preferences. An evolution of the traditional demand response model that Evergy has successfully employed for 10+ years, the new program prioritizes customers' comfort with subtle, personalized temperature adjustments. Dispatched to tens o...

The electric grid is challenged by growth from many sources, including EVs, but infrastructure upgrades to support fleet charging take time and money to implement while alternatives can be expensive or problematic. This an interactive conversation around a new product designed to address this issue: "Battery-Integrated EV Chargers." You'll learn how battery-integrated EV chargers ta...

Load Management Dialogue: Looking Ahead to 2026 - Trends in Flexible Load Management Hear from industry experts Jenny Roehm of Schneider Electric and Peter Kelly-Detwiler of NorthBridge Energy Partners as they explore the opportunities and challenges ahead for 2026. These will include demand growth, new data center impacts, the role of EVs, capacity, load flex valuation, and much more! Don’t miss...

PLMA Awards Webinar: CPUC + Energy Solutions on the TECH Clean California Heat Pump Water Heater (HPWH) Program A 2025 PLMA Award of Excellence Winner, TECH Clean California, launched by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), promotes clean heating technologies through incentives for heat pump water heater (HPWH) installations. The program has funded over 15,000 installations resulting...

PLMA Awards Webinar: SMUD + DNV for their Telematics-based Residential Managed EV Charging Program A 2025 PLMA Award of Excellence Winner, DNV and SMUD excelled in load management through their innovative Residential Managed EV Charging Pilot, which employed a randomized control trial to evaluate solar consumption, system peak reduction, and transformer overload mitigation. With around 1,200 EVs e...

A 2025 PLMA Award of Excellence winner, APS marked five years of commitment to 100% clean electricity by 2050 and to date has achieved 54% clean energy. By collaborating with its customers, APS has supported its clean energy goal by operating one of the largest VPPs in North America.  With its VPP, APS can shift load using behind-the-meter resources to achieve predetermined load shapes during flex...

A 2025 PLMA Award of Excellence winner, BGE has also emerged as a national leader in EV load management with its Smart Charge Management program (SCM), demonstrating significant results through innovative managed charging techniques. As the first managed charging program of its kind to be scaled into a permanent offering, BGE’s SCM serves as a model for distribution-integrated EV load management f...

In 2023, Apex Analytics conducted research for the Regional Technical Forum (RTF) to characterize the electric vehicle (EV) market. The study’s goal was to assess the EV market, determine “competition” groups, testing methods, data availability, energy efficiency and DR opportunities, with the end goal to determine the potential for the RTF to develop a new efficiency savings measure. The study wa...

Industry expert, Doug Houseman, joins PLMA for a deep dive into the critical role to be played in the energy industry by Distribution Systems Operators (DSOs). We’ll explore how DSOs enable DERs, and how DSO business models differ from traditional distribution utility models and why, plus we’ll discuss examples of successful DSOs and how they coordinate DER activity via programs and markets. And,...

Industry experts, Olivia Patterson and Peter Kelly-Detwiler,  joined PLMA to look out over 2025's potential opportunities and challenges ahead, including: 1. A review of our 2024 predictions and what actually happened 2. All about 2025's Growth in Demand driven by AI, data centers, EVs, + + +  3. 2025's expected regional energy issues and opportunities 4. Planning ahead for new capa...

Learn how Evergy created and implemented a strategic plan to transition 550,000 Missouri residential customers to time-based plans in less than one year's time. Evergy had just six months to develop, test, and implement a highly technical, highly complex, multi-channel digital education initiative and ten months overall to begin converting customers. Partnering with Oracle, their plan, implem...

In October 2022, the government of Ontario in Canada issued a directive to its Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) to increase investments in energy efficiency and demand management; the lowest-cost ways of meeting system needs. These increased investments enabled additional demand-side management programming, including the "Save on Energy Peak Perks" program. Close coordinati...

Avista used Bidgely’s UtilityAI Platform to validate expectations about their EV customers, helping to drive equitable electrification for all, including low income communities. Join us to learn more about how Bidgely helped Avista reduce high-bill-investigation truck rolls by 27% in the first year; improve customer engagement/satisfaction; enhance EV grid planning; and save hundreds of hours of e...

Keynote presentation by Energy Expert and Author Peter Kelly-Detwiler addressing today's EV managed charging EV challenges and opportunities.

This panel will explore the intricacies of orchestrating electric vehicle managed charging programs and how automakers, electric vehicle supply equipment manufacturers, software providers, and utilities interact and promote effective programs. Drawing from lessons learned and experiences to date, the discussion will focus on managing EV charging to mitigate transformer overloading, avoid feeder up...

The pending deadline for the SEC’s new reporting requirements around Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals adds a new layer of complexity for all publicly traded organizations, including utilities. Accurately reporting decarbonization, DR/DER results, environmental stewardship, and community engagement will require new data collection approaches and analysis. Learn how the energy indus...

Delivering a successful utility EV program, whether focused on adoption or managed charging, requires coordination across several different stakeholders, including the utility, utility vendors, and OEMs. Often, car dealerships are ignored due to their unique structure and their relatively new engagement with utility programs. This session will discuss specific barriers car dealerships face within...

The way customers use energy is changing in fundamental ways.  Home energy technology - electric vehicles, air conditioners, solar and storage - can be a headache for utilities and grids, but active load management can unlock great value for customers and utilities. London-based Octopus Energy is a leading energy supplier with over 7,700,000 customers worldwide, across the UK, US, Europe, and APAC...

A discussion about the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program and how it's being implemented in two states. Erin Belt with VDOT will share how Virginia has developed their NEVI Deployment Plan, selected alternative fuel corridors for federal designation, and released their Phase I-A funding through a grant application process. VDOT made coordination with utility providers in...

Wood Mackenzie has estimated the U.S. could have up to 380GW of DERs connected to the grid as soon as 2025, which represents tens of millions of new DERs. PLMA has invited two industry experts to help us explore the outlook for 2024, including opportunities and challenges they will be watching closely in the year ahead. Join us to learn more about:  policy and regulatory changes that may affect DR...

"With electricity demand growing for the first time in a decade and fossil assets retiring, deploying 80-160 GW of virtual power plants (VPPs)—tripling current scale—by 2030 could support rapid electrification while redirecting grid spending from peaker plants to participants and reducing overall grid costs.“ Jen Downing from the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office will present key in...