Critical Loop Unlocks Flexible Interconnection for California Industry With First Power Controller to Achieve CSIP 2030.5 Certification and UL 3141 Listing

Successful PG&E interoperability testing clears path for commercial and industrial facilities to connect to the grid avoiding years-long wait

LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Critical Loop, an industrial power solutions company, today announced that Cygnus, its software-defined power controller, has achieved official CSIP 2030.5 certification and successfully completed interoperability testing with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), joining the utility’s Flex Connect Approved Solution Providers list. Coupled with its existing UL 3141 listing, Cygnus is now the first power controller on the market to hold both certifications, giving customers a single solution with broad compatibility across utility environments, including PG&E and Southern California utilities. While PG&E interoperability does not require both, the combination gives Critical Loop greater flexibility to deploy Cygnus across California’s evolving grid landscape.

These milestones come at a time when California is embracing flexible interconnection as a way to accommodate rapidly growing electricity demand without waiting years for traditional grid upgrades. The approach can support a range of large-load applications by dynamically managing power consumption based on real-time grid conditions. Critical Loop is helping bring this model to new commercial and industrial applications, giving high-demand customers a faster, more flexible path to operating within available grid capacity.

Cygnus joins a growing ecosystem of approved technologies supporting PG&E’s Flex Connect program, which enables customers with controllable loads to connect to the grid without waiting for traditional distribution upgrades. Through secure communications and automated energy management, Flex Connect allows customers to access available grid capacity today while dynamically adjusting consumption during limited periods of grid constraint. By leveraging software, controls and customer flexibility, the program is helping accelerate energization timelines, reduce infrastructure costs and support California’s rapidly growing electricity demand.

“Businesses shouldn’t have to choose where they operate based on power availability,” said Bala Ramamurthy, co-founder and CEO of Critical Loop. “Cygnus was built to help customers and utilities maximize existing grid capacity without waiting years for grid upgrades. Securing CSIP 2030.5 certification and successful interoperability testing with PG&E alongside our UL 3141 listing demonstrates that flexible interconnection is ready for larger commercial and industrial facilities.”

Critical Loop’s interoperability testing with PG&E confirms that behind-the-meter battery storage and smart controls can dynamically manage commercial and industrial loads under real-world conditions. Flexible interconnection allows facilities to draw maximum available power from the grid during unconstrained hours, utilizing on-site battery storage during peak periods to enforce strict hourly limits set by the utility. By maximizing connection to the grid, industrial operators access power faster, more reliably, and at a fraction of the cost of burning diesel continuous-use generators or tying up millions of dollars in utility deposits.

Flex Connect is already demonstrating how flexible interconnection can accelerate customer energization. Today, the program supports five operational sites, including commercial EV fleets, public fast-charging infrastructure and battery energy storage systems, with more than 85 additional projects spanning EV charging, battery storage and emerging commercial and industrial applications in the active pipeline. As adoption expands to new use cases, including commercial, industrial and large-load applications, interoperable solutions such as Cygnus can help customers access available grid capacity sooner while long-term infrastructure upgrades are underway.

“Flex Connect is helping customers connect to the grid faster by making better use of capacity that’s already available today,” said Alex Portilla, Director, Clean Energy Technology Platforms at PG&E. “Our goal is to enable customers to bring their own solutions while giving us the visibility and reliability needed to operate the grid safely. Critical Loop’s successful interoperability testing demonstrates how innovative technologies can help expand flexible interconnection beyond EV charging into a broader range of commercial and industrial applications, supporting California’s growing demand for electricity without waiting for traditional infrastructure upgrades.”

Critical Loop was a finalist in PG&E’s 2025 Innovation Pitch Fest, part of PG&E’s R&D program designed to discover and rapidly test new solutions that address key operational challenges.

With PG&E interoperability complete and certifications achieved, Critical Loop is actively onboarding C&I customers across California, offering industrial power users a rapid path to full operations in months rather than years.

About Critical Loop

Critical Loop is an industrial power solutions company that brings customers online faster than traditional grid expansion. Their energy platform combines advanced autonomous control, battery energy storage, and flexible power generation to solve time-to-power problems for industrial facilities, data centers, utilities, and critical infrastructure. By deploying nimble, modular, scalable microgrids that maximize existing grid capacity while adding just the right amount of on-site power, Critical Loop enables businesses to access reliable, cost-effective electricity in days, weeks, or months rather than years. The company is on a mission to create a world with abundant, affordable energy where power is available, reliable, and no longer a constraint on progress. For more information, visit criticalloop.com.

About Pacific Gas and Electric Company

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG), is a combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than sixteen million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit pge.com and pge.com/news.