Virtual power plant calculators
Virtual Power Plant Calculators: from demand response to orchestrated VPPs
Three tools for three audiences: today’s device-by-device demand response programs, Distributed Energy Resource (DER) asset fleets orchestrated in wholesale markets, and the next generation of VPP programs still in design.
VPP Economics has no affiliation with, sponsorship from, or endorsement by any utility, aggregator, platform, or device maker named here.
The short answer
- Virtual power plants (VPPs) come in three forms, and each needs its own calculator. Most programs open to homes today are demand response: a one-way signal a few times a season, paid per device. The current calculator adds those up device by device, which is how most households enter a VPP.
- An orchestrated VPP is different. Software dispatches a fleet continuously as one resource, often in a wholesale market, and the fleet is paid on metered output whatever the mix of devices. NYISO has offered this since April 16, 2024 (NYSRC).
- Programs beyond that are still being designed. The third calculator will let program administrators change the rules and see both the payment and the grid impact.
The three calculators
VPP & Demand Response
For: Homeowners, installers, program staff
Which of today’s programs accept a given battery, EV, thermostat, water heater or solar inverter, and what joining several pays.
Open the calculator →Orchestrated VPP
For: Aggregators, utilities, grid operators
What a mixed fleet earns orchestrated in NYISO or CAISO markets: which kilowatts the rules count, revenue by service (capacity, energy, reserves), the aggregator’s share, and the net payment per site next to utility and state programs. ERCOT follows.
Open the calculator →Next-Gen VPP Designer
For: Program administrators in pilot or design
If a state or grid operator sets the rules this way, what do participants earn, how many enroll, how many firm megawatts the grid gets, and what each megawatt costs compared with a peaking plant.
Planned after the orchestrated VPP calculator
How the tools differ
Where orchestrated VPPs exist today
New York is furthest along. Aggregations of distributed resources that can be dispatched in real time can sell energy, ancillary services and capacity in NYISO’s markets (NYISO). As of April 2026, 426 MW of aggregations had passed distribution-utility review, nearly all upstate and all classed as demand-side resources (NYSRC). That is why the orchestrated VPP calculator starts with NYISO.
Others are close behind. CAISO lets distributed energy resource aggregations sell energy and ancillary services (CAISO). ERCOT’s aggregated DER pilot takes any mix of generation, storage or controllable load (ERCOT) and raised its participation limits in March 2026 (ERCOT). ISO-NE brings aggregations into its markets on November 1, 2026 (ISO-NE), PJM starts with the 2028/29 capacity auction (PJM), and MISO has proposed October 2029 (MISO).
Utilities and states are also building their own VPP programs on DERMS platforms. Those will feed the next-gen designer. See the full timeline on Policy & Regulation.
Which one to use
Start with VPP & Demand Response
It shows which programs accept the equipment today, what each pays, and how payments stack across devices.
Orchestrated VPP
For sizing a mixed fleet against wholesale market prices and comparing it with today’s event-based programs.
Next-Gen VPP Designer
For testing payment levels, event rules and baselines before a pilot or tariff is filed.
Method and caveats
The demand response calculator and the NYISO version of the orchestrated VPP calculator are live; CAISO and ERCOT versions and the next-gen designer are in development and will publish their methods and sources on launch. Market dates are as published and may slip. Checked October 1, 2026.