National GEB Roadmap: U.S. DOE, A National Roadmap for Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings (May 2021)

U.S. DOE, Connected Communities (overview presentation)

NASEO, "Demand Flexibility and Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings 101" (September 2022)

 

What's new? 

  • Upcoming:

    • NASEO-NARUC Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings Working Group webinar: Using Grid-Edge Resources (GERs) to Provide Distribution-level Services – July 24, 2025, 3:00 – 4:30 PM ET: Paul De Martini (Newport Consulting Group) will discuss the evolving role of GERs to provide grid services for managing local distribution needs affordably. He will be followed by representatives from the New York Department of Public Service (tentative), who will speak on that state’s efforts to advance GERs, including demand flexibility. Shifting from traditional, bulk-power-focused GER use to targeting local distribution-level needs is essential for ensuring grid reliability while also deferring costly distribution infrastructure upgrades. Hear about states and utilities moving in this direction. Please register here.

    • NASEO Powering Up Data Centers and NASEO-NARUC Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings Working Group Webinar: Data Center and Large Load Flexibility to Meet Energy Demand Growth – August 7, 2025, 2:00 – 3:30 PM ET: This webinar will feature (invited) an overview of the Duke University, Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability’s report, Rethinking Load Growth: Assessing the Potential for Integration of Large Flexible Loads in US Power Systems as well as a dive into Emerald AI’s demonstration of data center compute orchestration, delivering firm dispatchable load flexibility in Phoenix, Arizona. Registration link here.

    • G-PST/ESIG webinar Unlocking DER Flexibility: Grid Services, Value Stacking, and Market Integration – July 23, 2025, 4:00-5:00 pm ET: This webinar will offer a structured overview of evolving DER flexibility landscape with focus on four key areas: grid services spectrum, wholesale market participation, distribution-level services, and value stacking. The session will conclude with insights into current research, including: the standardization of Distribution System Operator-DER aggregator interactions; the categories of access costs DER aggregators should account when considering wholesale market participation; broader billing and settlement complexities. See here for more information and registration link.

  • Recent:

    • District of Columbia, Dept. of Energy and Environment, RFI Advancing DER Aggregation and FERC Order 2222 Implementation in DC; responses due August 1, 2025.

    • 2025 IEPR Commissioner Workshop on California’s Progress Toward the Load-Shift Goal, June 25, 2025 includes the following presentations from California as well as on load flexibility elsewhere:

    • Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (CEC) Grid Services Study is an initiative that offer an initial compensation framework for DERs providing location-specific grid services to the distribution grid and an implementation roadmap intended to guide the longer-term development of offerings for using DER flexibility to support the distribution grid. Site includes links to workshops on DER valuation, compensation, and valuation; final report planned in Summer 2025.

    • RMI PIMs Database provides information on emergent performance incentive mechanisms (PIMs) across the United States. The database is designed to be filterable by a number of factors, including state, utility, status (i.e., active or inactive), incentive type, incentive structure, emergent topic area, and how the utility performed towards the PIM's targets. The database can be downloaded in full or based on specific filter result parameters. The emergent topics tab provides a description for each topic, as well as links to additional information for some of the emergent topics in the database.

    • Peak Load Management Alliance (PLMA) is a collaborative community for energy load management practitioners who are dedicated to a more sustainable world through the advancement of grid reliability, resiliency, and technological innovation.

    • 2025 California Demand Flexibility Summit, held on May 22, 2025, was hosted by the California Energy Commission (CEC), in collaboration with the University of California Davis (UC Davis) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), to explore opportunities and challenges for realizing the statewide goal of 7,000 megawatts (MW) of demand flexibility by 2030, and discuss the role for demand flexibility in ensuring clean, reliable, and affordable energy for California. Agenda and video recordings are available here.

    • Vehicle-Grid Integration Council (VGIC), Utility Collaboration Forum (UCF), Best Practices for Vehicle-Grid Integration Program and Pilot Development (March 2025) provides essential guidance for utilities and regulators designing and implementing VGI initiatives. Register here for May 29, 2025, 1:00 pm ET webinar.
    • Energy Systems Integration Group (ESIG), Gaps, Barriers, and Solutions to Demand Response Participation in Wholesale Markets (January 2025) examines why demand response participation remains limited in wholesale markets and proposes actionable solutions to unlock its full potential. (Landing page links to full report, executive summary, policy brief, and appendix.)
    • Data Center Demand Flexibility items:

    • SEPA, Decoding DERMS: Options for the Future of DER Management (March 2025) explore how DERMS can provide real-time monitoring, control, and coordination of both front-of-the-meter (FTM) and behind-the-meter (BTM) assets to enable VPPs and provide reliable flexibility by leveraging DERs to shift and shape load.

    • New York’s Grid Flexibility Potential (January 2025) - Brattle energy analysts prepared a study for the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the New York Department of Public Service (NY DPS) that assesses the cost-effective, achievable potential for grid flexibility in the state in 2030 and 2040.

    • Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) and North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center, 50 States of Virtual Power Plant and Supporting Distributed Energy Resources: 2024 State Policy Snapshot (February 2025) - examines the breadth and scope of recent state policy actions related to VPPs and DER aggregations in the United States and provides an outlook of expected 2025 activity.

    • NASEO-NARUC Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings Working Group Webinar: Scaling Demand Flexibility with Software - January 30, 2025: This webinar featured Rajiv Shah of Octopus Energy Group discussing issues of scaling demand flexibility and VPP solutions, drawing on Octopus Energy and Kraken Technologies experiences, including management of over 200,000 devices at over 1 GW of flexible capacity in one of the world’s largest residential VPPs. The webinar covered approaches for optimizing distributed energy resource (DER) management, including technological, policy, regulatory, and customer-facing factors (such as incentive design) as well as establishment of the Mercury Consortium to advance device interoperability. Presentation slides are here and recording here. 

    • DOE, Pathways to Commercial Liftoff; Virtual Power Plants 2025 Update - This update supplements but does not replace the original 2023 VPP Liftoff Report by providing additional real-world examples, new resources, and updated industry insights that support VPP deployment. (Report, factsheet)

    • DOE, Sourcing Distributed Energy Resources for Distributed Grid Services (December 2024) - examines the evolving role of DERs including EV charging to provide grid services for managing local distribution needs affordably. Shifting from traditional, bulk-power-focused DER use to local distribution-targeted applications is essential for deferring costly distribution infrastructure upgrades while ensuring grid reliability.

    •    LBNL VPP and Demand Flexibility Reports (December 2024 - January 2025)

    • Colorado Microgrid Roadmap (2025) defines and evaluates different types of microgrids, develops criteria to identify priority projects, and recommends key policies to facilitate microgrid deployment in Colorado. It also includes strategies for addressing costs, interconnection standards, and legal considerations, which are among the main challenges for microgrid implementation in the state. The Roadmap includes discussion and examples of microgrids providing resilience, demand flexibility and VPP services.

    • Maine Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) Distribution System Operator (DSO) Feasibility Study – GEO is leading a study to determine whether a DSO could be established in Maine to achieve cost savings for customers, improved system reliability, and accelerated achievement of the State’s climate goals. A DSO approach is posited as a way to increase deployment of DERs at the grid-edge, both behind-the-meter and front-of-the-meter. [Energy Changemakers article here.]

    • Ann Arbor’s Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) - The SEU will be an opt-in, supplemental, community-owned energy utility that provides 100% renewable energy from local solar and battery storage systems installed at participating homes and businesses in the city.

    • The CalFlexHub Symposium 2024 was held on September 24, 2024, featuring updates on CalFlexHub’s portfolio of projects, information on the latest policies, research, and developments in load flexibility as well as presentations from leaders in the space and keynotes from the California Energy Commission and U.S. Department of Energy. Slides and recordings are available here.

    • NASEO-NARUC Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings (GEB) Working Groups Forum: RMI Virtual Power Plant (VPP) Flipbook - September 4, 2024: Mary Tobin, RMI discussed the recent RMI VPP Flipbook that highlights key design elements and lessons to help utilities and states to implement effective VPPs. The Flipbook showcases various technologies, utility participation models, compensation approaches, and third-party partnership roles. The Forum also had presentations from Yoh Kawanami from Hawaiian Electric and Amy Findlay from Eversource on their relevant utility programs and approaches. A recording is available here.

    • NARUC-NASEO DER Integration and Compensation Initiative: Resources and Activities (webinars, workshops)

    • Murphy, et al. (LBNL), The State of Demand Flexibility Programs and Rates (August 2024) - This report provides foundational data on programs and rates that promote demand flexibility in residential and commercial buildings in the United States. Drawing on data from 148 programs and 93 rates, the report describes the structure of demand flexibility events, types and level of incentives, and offers additional detail and outcomes for some programs. The report also reports on dynamic, technology, and related rates features.

    •  RMI Virtual Power Plant Partnership (VP3)

      • VPP policy principles; April 9, 2024 webinar recording and slides are available on RMI’s website.

      • RMI VPP Flipbook is a collection of VPP case studies highlighting key program design elements and takeaways to help utilities and other stakeholders implement efficient and impactful VPP programs.  The VPPs included in the flipbook showcase a variety of technologies, utility participation models, compensation frameworks, and third-party partnership roles to demonstrate the versatility of existing VPPs. The supporting VPP Comparison Matrix consolidates information from the Flipbook to allow the user to filter for VPPs most applicable to their needs.

    • Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA) Webinar: VPPs in the Heartland: How VPPs are Impacting the Midwest – July 30, 2024: This webinar discusses VPP drivers and barriers in the Midwest, scalability and replicability in the region, and lessons offered from other parts of the country. Recording available via here.

    • NARUC, NASEO, RMI: Aggregated Distributed Energy Resources in 2024: The Fundamentals, July 2024 - This report builds upon existing literature and leading examples of ADER pricing and programs in practice to equip commissioners and staff at Public Utilities Commissions and State Energy Offices with the fundamentals of ADER grid services, valuation options, and approaches to compensation.

    • NASEO-NARUC Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings (GEB) and NASEO Industrial Working Groups Joint Forum: Industrial Demand Flexibility - June 11, 2024: This Forum focused on industrial demand flexibility and load management to save money, lower emissions, and reduce grid stresses from industrial operations. Dr. Kody Powell (Intermountain Industrial Assessment Center and University of Utah) and Dr. Blake Billings (Oak Ridge National Lab) presented Working Smarter, Not Harder: Opportunities and Challenges for Industrial Demand Response to Support the Grid and Ilia Krupenich and Akruti Gupta of the California Energy Commission (CEC) presented Industrial Energy Innovation in California highlighting industrial load flexibility opportunities and programs in California.
    • NASEO-NARUC Microgrids and NASEO Rural Working Groups Joint Webinar: Improving Energy Resilience with Rural and Remote Microgrids (May 7, 2024) (Recording, Slides)
    • Resources and Assistance for State Energy Offices and Regulators Program is funded DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy and Office of Electricity to provide high-impact technical assistance and resources at scales and intervals that are responsive to State Energy Office and Public Utility Commission needs through multi-modal support options. It is designed to be responsive to a rapidly changing regulatory and policy landscape that seeks to match the timing and depth of questions with National Laboratory subject matter experts (SME) on key topical areas. This program augments and complements current technical assistance activities undertaken by various DOE program offices.
    • March 14 U.S. DOE Deep Dive Webinar on the Pathways to Commercial Liftoff VPP report recording is posted.

    • NASEO-NARUC Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings (GEB) and Microgrids State Working Groups Joint Webinar: Demand Flexibility and Electrified Transportation - February 1, 2024: This joint webinar of the NASEO-NARUC GEB and Microgrids State Working Groups explored opportunities for electrified transportation integrated with other distributed energy resources (DERs) to provide grid services and support resilience through demand flexibility and vehicle-to-grid (V2G)/vehicle-to-everything (V2X) functionality. Amy McGuire of Highland Electric Fleets (presentation) discussed school bus electrification, including work with Montgomery Co. (MD) on what will be the nation’s largest EV school bus fleet and its piloting of V2G applications. Jeremy Berke of the Washington State Department of Commerce (presentation) discussed the state’s Clean Energy Fund and Grid Modernization Program. Scott Gibson of the Snohomish County Public Utility District (PUD) (presentation) discussed the utility’s Arlington Microgrid V2G Demonstration Project that incorporates solar generation, battery storage, and V2G charging for the PUD’s EV fleet. (Recording)     

    • American Council of an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE): Johnson, A., A. Fraser, and D. York (2024) Enabling Industrial Demand Flexibility: Aligning Industrial Consumer and Grid Benefits calls on industry, utilities, and states to prepare for increasing loads by investing in strategies and technologies that enable demand flexibility, the ability of industrial facilities to adjust their energy consumption in response to grid conditions. 

    • Guidehouse, Alternative Aggregated DER Participation Methods for US Grids Are Still Needed: FERC Order 2222 Is a Good First Step, but Additional Work Remains (4Q 2023) - This report discusses DER adoption and grid service potential of aggregated DER portfolios in the United States. It also outlines FERC Order 2222 goals, barriers to aggregated DER wholesale market participation, and discusses and offers recommendations on alternative grid participation methods for aggregated DERs.

    • Illinois Commerce Commission: Investigation Into The Value Of, And Compensation For, Distributed Energy Resources (illinois.gov) - Workshop Series 1 presentations and recordings, Workshop Series 2 upcoming.

    • DOE Better Buildings Alliance Renewables Integration GEB-related resources.

    • See also NARUC-NASEO DER-Integration & Compensation Initiative

    • See also reports from the parallel NASEO-NARUC Microgrids State Working Group.

 

GEB Working Group Technical Assistance calls and resources (participation limited to Working Group states, contact geb@naseo.org for information):

 

NASEO documents/resources

 

U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. General Services Administration, SEE Action Network, National Laboratories

 

State and Regionally Focused 

 

Other resources

  • RMI PIMs Database provides information on emergent performance incentive mechanisms (PIMs) across the United States. The database is designed to be filterable by a number of factors, including state, utility, status (i.e., active or inactive), incentive type, incentive structure, emergent topic area, and how the utility performed towards the PIM's targets. The database can be downloaded in full or based on specific filter result parameters. The emergent topics tab provides a description for each topic, as well as links to additional information for some of the emergent topics in the database.

  • Vehicle-Grid Integration Council (VGIC), Utility Collaboration Forum (UCF), Best Practices for Vehicle-Grid Integration Program and Pilot Development (March 2025) provides essential guidance for utilities and regulators designing and implementing VGI initiatives. Register here for May 29, 2025, 1:00 pm ET webinar.
  • Energy Systems Integration Group (ESIG), Gaps, Barriers, and Solutions to Demand Response Participation in Wholesale Markets (January 2025) examines why demand response participation remains limited in wholesale markets and proposes actionable solutions to unlock its full potential. (Landing page links to full report, executive summary, policy brief, and appendix.)
  • Data Center Demand Flexibility items:

  • SEPA, Decoding DERMS: Options for the Future of DER Management (March 2025) explore how DERMS can provide real-time monitoring, control, and coordination of both front-of-the-meter (FTM) and behind-the-meter (BTM) assets to enable VPPs and provide reliable flexibility by leveraging DERs to shift and shape load.

  • Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) and North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center, 50 States of Virtual Power Plant and Supporting Distributed Energy Resources: 2024 State Policy Snapshot (February 2025) - examines the breadth and scope of recent state policy actions related to VPPs and DER aggregations in the United States and provides an outlook of expected 2025 activity.

  • NARUC, NASEO, RMI: Aggregated Distributed Energy Resources in 2024: The Fundamentals, July 2024 - This report builds upon existing literature and leading examples of ADER pricing and programs in practice to equip commissioners and staff at Public Utilities Commissions and State Energy Offices with the fundamentals of ADER grid services, valuation options, and approaches to compensation.

  • Virtual Power Plant Partnership (VP3), led by RMI with private sector partners, is dedicated to understanding the opportunities—and challenges—of the VPP market, including the roles that DERs and demand flexibility can play in decarbonizing and stabilizing the grid.

RMI VPP Flipbook

RMI VPP Policy Principles

RMI Virtual Power Plants, Real Benefits report

Flex Coalition and RMI webinar on VPPs and home energy rebates (June 13, 2024)

 

NASEO, NARUC, and Associated Webinars and Forums

Other Webinars and Events

Meeting presentations

 

NASEO and State RFI comments