VPP Policy Principles

This policy brief by RMI outlines principles for energy regulators and policymakers to leverage virtual power plants (VPPs) to enhance grid affordability and reliability by aggregating customer-sited distributed energy resources (DERs).

• Virtual power plants (VPPs) function as aggregations of distributed energy resources (DERs)—such as rooftop solar, batteries, electric vehicles, smart thermostats, and smart water heaters—that can balance electrical loads and provide utility-grade services. These systems offer grid operators cost-effective and resilient solutions while providing energy bill savings to customers.
• Scaling the benefits of VPPs requires a foundation of strong policy and regulation to ensure fair and efficient growth, integration, valuation, and compensation. These principles are designed to guide decisions over the next one to four years across several areas, including utility business model reforms, wholesale market participation, tariff design, energy system digitalization, non-wires solutions, and integrated distribution system planning.

APA

RMI (2024). VPP Policy Principles. https://rmi.org/resources/vpp-policy-principles/

Chicago

RMI. VPP Policy Principles. 2024. https://rmi.org/resources/vpp-policy-principles/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=VPP Policy Principles |date=22 February 2024 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/vpp-policy-principles/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2024vpp, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{VPP Policy Principles}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2024}, month = feb, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/vpp-policy-principles/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }