California virtual power plant bills clear key legislative hurdle

Two bills moving through the California legislature could change how home batteries, EV chargers, and smart thermostats get used and paid for on the grid. Lawmakers must vote by August 31, and Governor Newsom would then have until the end of September to sign or veto them. Last year he vetoed similar bills, so it's not clear he'll act differently this time.

The bills aim to bundle household devices like solar batteries into what's called a virtual power plant, a network of home energy devices the grid can draw on together during high-demand periods. Senate Bill 913 would set rules letting these home devices count toward "resource adequacy," the backup power utilities are required to line up for peak demand, and could make it more worthwhile financially for battery owners to send power back to the grid. Senate Bill 905 would push utilities to use existing home devices more efficiently before spending billions on new grid infrastructure, which could ease pressure on electric rates.

If you have a home battery, smart thermostat, or EV charger in California, this could eventually affect whether you get paid for letting the grid tap your device during peak hours. One existing program, Demand Side Grid Support, already pays hundreds of thousands of California households with batteries and smart devices for this kind of participation, but it faces a state funding cut that could shut it down next year. Supporters of the new bills also want that program extended so current participants aren't left without compensation while new rules are worked out.