ComEd Receives Approval to Launch its First Virtual Power Plant Program for Customers in 2027

New first-of-its-kind program in Illinois will support grid affordability and reliability while allowing customers with battery storage to earn incentives for participating

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ComEd today announced that the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has approved the company’s proposal to launch a new Scheduled Dispatch Virtual Power Plant (SDVPP) program, an initiative shaped by Illinois’ Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (CRGA). At the direction of CRGA, the program is designed to increase the amount of battery storage available across northern Illinois that can be deployed during times of high electricity demand, helping to relieve pressure on the grid and support reliability and affordability for customers.

A virtual power plant, or VPP, brings together many customer‑owned energy resources, such as battery storage and solar, also known as distributed energy resources (DERs), and coordinates them to act as a single power source. By working in tandem, these resources can supply energy to the grid during periods of highest demand. The new SDVPP program, expected to become available in 2027, will allow customers who choose to participate to send stored energy from their batteries back to the grid during pre‑defined times when the system is most strained.

VPPs are an important tool for managing growing electricity demand, supporting grid reliability, and creating opportunities for customers to earn incentives in recognition of their support for resource adequacy and broader customer affordability.

“ComEd is focused on advancing innovative solutions that strengthen the grid while helping customers better manage their energy use and costs,” said Andrew Plenge, vice president of strategy and energy policy at ComEd. “This Scheduled Dispatch Virtual Power Plant program, as envisioned by CRGA, is an important step in bolstering the potential of customer-sited energy resources to make the grid more resilient during periods of peak demand while helping customers receive additional value for their support at a time when supply costs are rising.”

Driven by economic development, electrification, the growth of data centers and increasingly extreme weather, electricity demand continues to rise. Programs like virtual power plants help keep the grid resilient during periods of highest electricity use by using energy that customers have already generated or stored. By supporting the grid during peak demand, VPPs can also help manage system upgrade costs as new demand is added, reducing the need for more expensive infrastructure investments over time.

ComEd’s SDVPP proposal builds on Illinois’ clean energy policies and consistent with CRGA, will expand on this first VPP offering by 2029 to include other distributed energy resources such as electric vehicles.

“This program is exactly what Illinois lawmakers intended when they passed the Clean and Reliable Affordable Grid Act last fall: a way to quickly put distributed energy resources to work for the whole grid,” said Will Kenworthy, Midwest Regulatory Director at Vote Solar. “We are excited to see ComEd move quickly to stand up the Scheduled Dispatch Virtual Power Plant, which rewards customers for sharing their stored energy during peak demand while driving down system costs for all ratepayers. It’s a model for how the clean energy transition can save people money.”

The SDVPP is the latest example of how ComEd is expanding programs that give customers more tools and incentives to better manage their energy use while supporting grid flexibility and reliability. These efforts build on ComEd’s broader investments in energy efficiency, distributed generation and other customer programs. In recent years, the company has awarded more than $2.5 billion in incentives to help offset the cost of energy-efficiency improvements and connected approximately 1.8 gigawatts of distributed energy resources to the grid.

About ComEd

ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ: EXC), a Fortune 200 company and one of the nation’s largest utility companies, serving almost 11 million customers through six fully regulated transmission and distribution utilities — Atlantic City Electric, BGE, ComEd, Delmarva Power, PECO, and Pepco. ComEd powers the lives of more than 4 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population. For more information visit ComEd.com, and connect with the company on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.