Energy costs keep going up and the electric grid is experiencing strain. To ease both concerns, Baltimore Gas and Electric is considering a proposal to incorporate customer-owned devices such as home battery storage, electric vehicles and other smart devices to create virtual power plants (VPPs) that could help the grid during peak times.

BGE customers would have the option to join a program that provides incentives for allowing the utility to adjust how the devices use electricity during times of high energy use. The utility believes this would lower energy costs and stabilize the grid. They reference VPPs in California and Puerto Rico that have implemented similar programs, with good results enabling system reliability and avoidance of outages.

If the proposal—a response to Maryland’s Distributed Renewable Integration and Vehicle Electrification (DRIVE) Act of 2024—is approved, enrolled customers can earn incentives during a two-year pilot period. Future programs would be based on the results of the pilot.

“BGE’s proposed solutions give customers more tools to manage their energy use, save money and support a cleaner, more resilient grid,” said John Frain, BGE’s vice president of strategy and regulatory affairs. “Advancing time-of-use options, on-site renewables and virtual power plant technology can strengthen reliability while expanding customer.”

Utilities across the country are beginning to adopt similar customer-integrated ideas, treating residential batteries as dispatchable grid assets rather than passive backup systems by paying customers to share their stored power when the grid needs support. For example, Puget Sound Energy offers the Puget Sound Energy’s Flex Batteries program, in which customers receive an enrollment incentive of up to $1,000 per battery and up to $500 annually when stored energy is dispatched during peak demand.

When the grid is under strain, PSE automatically draws stored power from the system. This strengthens local grid reliability, prevents spikes on the power grid, reduces reliance on less efficient sources of power and pays homeowners for the energy their batteries provide. 

“With federal tax credits for home energy storage ending last year, programs such as this from Puget Sound Energy are an important way for homeowners to make battery backup affordable,” said Gary Lam, CEO and co-founder of FranklinWH Energy Storage, San Jose, Calif. “This program helps pay for an energy storage system that is more than backup power. It’s also a way to earn money from PSE while helping keep the power on across PSE’s territory.”