New bill aims to help VPPs replace peaker plants
A bill advancing through California’s legislature would create pathways for virtual power plants (VPPs) to compete with fossil-fueled peaker plants, a move that could help the state curb its fast-rising utility rates. According to Sen. Josh Becker, who introduced the bill, Senate Bill 913 would allow VPPs to compete with traditional power sources to provide grid reliability at the lowest cost. The bill, which lays out a slew of policy changes, passed out of the California Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee earlier this month.
With VPPs, millions of homes across California will have devices that can turn down power use and batteries that can inject power onto the grid, all of which can be used to reduce the need for ?peaker power plants.
