Arizona Public Service announces goal of 100,000 devices in virtual power plant

Earlier this week, EnergyHub client Arizona Public Service publicly announced plans to enroll 100,000 thermostats in its Cool Rewards demand response program, supporting the utility’s clean energy goals.  APS has already enrolled over 52,000 connected thermostats in Cool Rewards, with this virtual power plant providing 80 MW of flexible load this summer to APS.

EnergyHub has worked with Arizona Public Service since 2017 to manage their portfolio of grid-edge and customer-owned distributed energy resources (DERs), including connected thermostats, battery energy storage, solar inverters, and water heaters, in a multi-DER strategy that leverages the unique capabilities of different asset classes to achieve APS’s goals for the grid.  

Last year, APS announced a goal of providing 100% clean, carbon-free electricity to customers by 2050. The goal includes a nearer-term 2030 target of achieving a resource mix that is 65% clean energy and ending all coal-fired generation by 2031. The Cool Rewards program, as well as the other DER programs that EnergyHub manages with APS, are playing a key role in helping APS achieve this goal.

“We call that a triple win. We design programs that benefit our customers, providing them energy-saving options while helping to advance an increasingly cleaner and more reliable electric system,” said Kerri Carnes, APS Manager of Customer Technology. “Our robust virtual network of connected devices ranges from smart thermostats, solar inverters, and battery storage to water heaters. We will continue to enhance our customers’ experience and create forward-looking programs that embrace technology as a resource on our path to serving customers with 100% clean energy.”

We’re excited to partner with clients like APS to support their ambitious goals for building virtual power plants that can deliver flexible load and support the growth of clean energy. 

You can read APS’s full press release here.

Read more about the work we’re doing with APS here.