Utility Programs · Checked October 14, 2026
VPP Programs by Manufacturer: Channels and Program Design
How battery manufacturers act as aggregators, how their channels compare with product-agnostic utility programs, and where each sits between demand response and an orchestrated virtual power plant (VPP).
VPP Economics has no affiliation with, sponsorship from, or endorsement by any utility, aggregator, platform, or device maker named here.
The short answer
- A manufacturer-run program is a delivery channel, not a program design. The battery maker acts as the aggregator for a utility or market program: it enrolls its own customers, dispatches its own fleet and passes payment through. A product-agnostic utility program sets one set of rules and accepts several brands. Many programs, such as Mass Save’s ConnectedSolutions, run both channels at once (Mass Save).
- Most manufacturer channels deliver event-based demand response. Of the programs Tesla lists as virtual power plants (VPPs), most call batteries for a few dozen summer events (Tesla virtual power plant programs; Tesla ConnectedSolutions page). Daily scheduled dispatch and wholesale participation, as in Tesla Electric and sonnen’s fleet in ERCOT, are the exceptions (Tesla Electric VPP page; sonnen Texas expansion release).
- The channel decides how much value reaches participants. Massachusetts utilities pay $275 per kW-summer; Tesla passes on 80%, or $220 (Tesla ConnectedSolutions page). Other channels use guaranteed fixed payments, upfront per-kW incentives or bundled electricity rates.
- Program pay is not grid value. Manufacturer-channel rates run from $50 to $275 per kW, against about $122 per kW-year at PJM’s 2027/28 capacity price (PJM 2027/28 capacity auction report). The gap reflects program budgets, event frequency and what each utility avoids, not device capability.
Two channels into the same program
For a utility or program manager, the choice is less about which batteries can join than about who runs the relationship with the device. The two channels split five responsibilities differently.
| Responsibility | Manufacturer-driven channel | Product-agnostic utility program |
|---|---|---|
| Who enrolls the device | The manufacturer, in its app or through installers | The utility or program administrator, often through approved integrations |
| Who dispatches | The manufacturer’s own fleet software | The utility’s DERMS, a contracted aggregator, or the device maker under utility rules |
| Who sees device data | Mainly the manufacturer; the utility sees fleet results | The utility can require device-level telemetry |
| How pay reaches participants | Through the manufacturer, sometimes net of a fee | Directly from the utility, as a credit or check |
| Which devices qualify | One brand, often current models only | Several brands, sometimes several device types |
The manufacturer channel reaches an installed fleet quickly, with no new integration for the utility. The cost is control: dispatch and device data stay with the manufacturer, and payment passes through it. Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) designs keep the rules with the utility but must integrate each brand, usually through distributed energy resource management software (DERMS).
Who controls dispatch and data
Software platforms are blurring the line between the two channels. SolarEdge batteries reach utilities through EnergyHub’s DERMS (SolarEdge 500 MWh VPP announcement) and WeaveGrid’s orchestration platform (WeaveGrid and SolarEdge partnership). Generac sells its own Concerto DERMS to utilities, putting the manufacturer on both sides of the integration (Generac Smart Grid Ready). In El Paso, the utility manages dispatch of Base Power’s home batteries directly (ESS News on El Paso Electric and Base Power). Tesla dispatches its own fleet in every program it lists (Tesla virtual power plant programs).
Visibility matters for measurement and verification (M&V). A utility settling on meter baselines can accept fleet-level results; one counting batteries toward resource adequacy or distribution planning needs device-level telemetry. See VPP vs DERMS and Measurement & Verification.
Demand response vs. orchestrated VPP
Manufacturers often use “virtual power plant” for any grid program. Demand response calls devices for a limited number of events, usually to cut a summer peak, and pays mainly for kW delivered. An orchestrated VPP dispatches a fleet frequently and can stack wholesale energy, reserves and capacity (ACEEE; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory). In both, the aggregator or utility makes the dispatch decision, not the device owner.
ConnectedSolutions runs up to 60 events of at most 3 hours from June to September (Tesla ConnectedSolutions page), and California’s Demand Side Grid Support (DSGS) dispatches only when wholesale prices exceed $200 per MWh (Tesla DSGS page). Both are event-based. Daily windows, as in San Diego Community Power, Hawaii’s BYOD+ and Generac’s California program, deliver regular grid flexibility without market bidding (Tesla San Diego Community Power page; FranklinWH Hawaii BYOD+ page; Generac California VPP terms). Tesla Electric bids members’ Powerwalls into ERCOT’s Aggregated Distributed Energy Resource (ADER) pilot for energy and reserves (Tesla Electric VPP page; ERCOT ADER pilot). The characteristics that separate these designs are laid out in VPP 101.
Where manufacturer programs fit
From event-based demand response to orchestrated VPP
Swipe to see the full chart →
How value flows through the channel
Most programs pay per kW of average event performance. Where Tesla publishes both the utility rate and its net payment, the difference is the manufacturer’s fee. The PJM capacity price is a reference for what peak capacity is worth to the grid in one market, not a payment any participant receives.
Per-kW pay through manufacturer channels
Dollars per kW per season or year, gross
Swipe to see the full chart →
Utility rate minus a share
Tesla pays participants 80% of ConnectedSolutions compensation, locked for five years, and keeps the rest for administration (Tesla ConnectedSolutions page).
The manufacturer takes performance risk
Generac offers a guaranteed ConnectedSolutions incentive over 5 years (Generac ConnectedSolutions page), and $1,000 upfront plus $100 a year in California (Generac California VPP terms).
Pay for capacity up front
Green Mountain Power pays $850 per kW upfront through Enphase (Enphase Green Mountain Power page); Hawaii’s BYOD+ pays $400 per committed kW through FranklinWH (FranklinWH Hawaii BYOD+ page).
Steady bill credits
Duke’s battery control program pays $35–$71 a month through Enphase (Enphase Duke Energy page); Tesla Electric credits members monthly in ERCOT (Tesla Electric VPP page).
Value folded into the tariff
sonnen and SOLRITE offer solar and storage for a 12¢ per kWh all-in rate plus about $20 a month, with the fleet providing ERCOT grid services (sonnenConnect Texas; Solar Power World on the SOLRITE–sonnen offer).
No intermediary
In product-agnostic programs the utility pays participants directly. ConnectedSolutions pays $275 per kW in Massachusetts through any approved channel (Mass Save).
Manufacturer channels vs. multi-device programs
A manufacturer channel enrolls one brand of battery. Many utility programs enroll several device types under one design: ConnectedSolutions also pays smart thermostats (DOE Liftoff), and many of the utilities in our registry pay for EV chargers and water heaters alongside batteries. For program managers, multi-device designs spread fixed administration costs and diversify the fleet; for aggregators, they widen the addressable base. Compare Programs by Utility and Programs by State, and see How VPPs Make Money for where each party’s revenue comes from.
Choose channels deliberately
Manufacturer channels are fast to launch. Product-agnostic designs with DERMS integration give more visibility, keep more of the budget with participants, and make it easier to move from events toward daily dispatch.
Moving up the spectrum
Daily dispatch and wholesale participation, as in ERCOT and California resource adequacy, turn a few events a year into recurring grid flexibility revenue.
From fee to platform
The channel’s value is the installed fleet. Platforms such as Generac’s Concerto and SolarEdge’s DERMS integrations position manufacturers to serve utilities directly, not only as pass-through aggregators.
The battery side, at Battery Economics
This page looks at program design. Battery Economics covers what enrollment means for the battery: which models qualify in which states, backup reserve during events, warranty throughput caps, wear and round-trip losses against program pay, and brand-by-brand battery terms.
Model it
The Residential VPP Calculator compares program pay for VPP devices by ZIP code, and the Orchestrated VPP Calculator estimates fleet value in NYISO, CAISO and ERCOT wholesale markets.
Method and caveats
Program terms come from each manufacturer’s and administrator’s own pages, checked October 14, 2026. The channel comparison describes typical arrangements; individual programs vary.
Placement on the demand response to orchestrated VPP spectrum is a VPP Economics judgment based on published dispatch frequency, event windows and the number of grid services. Pay figures are gross and shown per kW per stated season or year; PJM capacity is a grid value reference, not a participant payment.
- Tesla virtual power plant programs
- Tesla ConnectedSolutions page
- Tesla DSGS page
- Tesla Electric VPP page
- Tesla APS page
- Tesla National Grid NY page
- Tesla San Diego Community Power page
- Enphase Green Mountain Power page
- Enphase Duke Energy page
- Enphase New York programs page
- Enphase DSGS page
- FranklinWH Hawaii BYOD+ page
- FranklinWH SRP page
- FranklinWH APS page
- FranklinWH National Grid NY page
- SolarEdge APS page
- SolarEdge 500 MWh VPP announcement
- WeaveGrid and SolarEdge partnership
- Generac ConnectedSolutions page
- Generac California VPP terms
- Generac Smart Grid Ready
- sonnen Texas expansion release
- sonnenConnect Texas
- Solar Power World on the SOLRITE–sonnen offer
- ESS News on the sonnen battery-only VPP
- ESS News on El Paso Electric and Base Power
- Mass Save
- ERCOT ADER pilot
- ACEEE
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- PJM 2027/28 capacity auction report