San Diegans in an east county desert community are giving San Diego Gas & Electric control of some of their power systems as part of a pilot program that could change the way energy is stored and distributed in the future.
This "virtual power plant" allows SDG&E to control opted-in customers connected technology -- like smart thermostats, rooftop solar, energy storage and water pumps -- in order to reduce energy demand and put electricity back on the grid when strained.
"They're giving us the ability to control the resources," SDG&E spokesperson Fernando Valero said. "Now they can always opt out. Like, let's say if their house is getting hot or something like that, or they want to turn their well water pump back on, they can always just go to the device and change that."
Valero explained that when SDG&E sees strain on the power grid, they can take preventative action to reduce strain on the grid. For example, SDG&E can pre-cool someone's house using their smart thermostat to reduce the strain at peak energy-use times from 4 to 9 p.m. The agency can also charge up someone's energy storage battery to serve the household instead of putting demand on the grid at on-peak times.
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Right now, the pilot program is only impacting the Shelter Valley residents in the pilot program. But SDG&E Chief Commercial Officer Miguel Romero anticipated that "When hundreds or thousands of businesses or homes are connected to a VPP and their resources are flexibly managed to charge or discharge electrons, they can help keep the lights on during hot summer days."
"The beauty of a virtual power plant is it can leverage existing resources to provide significant grid reliability benefits -- with zero incremental emissions."
Participants in the pilot include single-family homes with existing rooftop solar and the Shelter Valley Community Center, which serves as a resource center for the community during emergencies. The center received free installation of two batteries onsite.
"We can use this equipment to maintain a place for people if the power goes off and keep the center cool and hope we can provide food if needed for our community residents," Shelter Valley Community Center Board President Steve Bassett said.
This month, SDG&E used its pilot virtual power plant three times during peak power demand periods. When the VPP will be in use, participants receive a message about the potential for their devices to be turned off or discharge electricity to support the grid. Participants can opt-out for certain devices. So far, the opt-out rate has been very low, Valero said.
The pilot first came online last December and will run through December 2023. Once the pilot is complete, SDG&E will look to expand the effort to other communities.
According to the utility company, its VPP pilot differs from others due to the sheer range of devices it incorporates. It "involves multiple brands and types of devices including smart thermostats, well water controllers and battery energy storage systems."
City News Service contributed to this report.
