Residential virtual power plants could significantly curb rising electricity bills, according to a new analysis from The Brattle Group. The consultancy estimates that scaling these programs could cut expected bill increases by as much as half.
The report recommends that utilities adopt OEM-led enrollment strategies to expand residential VPPs, which aggregate distributed energy resources such as smart thermostats, home batteries, and electric vehicle chargers. By coordinating these devices, utilities can reduce peak demand and avoid costly infrastructure investments.
The analysis suggests that without such expansion, customers face steeper bill increases. Brattle's findings highlight the potential for demand-side flexibility to ease the financial burden of grid modernization and rising energy costs.