Voltus Achieves Win for Michigan Customers as Michigan Public Service Commission Allows for Demand Response Aggregators

SAN FRANCISCO and BOSTON, Dec. 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Voltus, Inc. ("Voltus"), the leading distributed energy resource software platform, today announced a win for large electricity consumers in Michigan. On December 21, 2022, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) ruled on Voltus’s October filing, deciding that all DTE Energy and Consumers Energy customers with large electric load can now enroll in demand response (DR) programs with a third party aggregator of their choice. Voltus was the only DR aggregator to express written, public support for this regulatory change. This action by the MPSC will bring the economic, reliability, and sustainability benefits of demand response to all large Michigan energy consumers.

In two of the last three years, capacity prices in the Michigan zone within the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) territory have cleared at the highest possible price, or CONE (Cost of New Entry). Such high prices are consistent with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s report describing the fact that MISO did not have sufficient resources to meet demand under extreme weather conditions.

“Capacity prices repeatedly clearing at CONE is a clear indicator that MISO needs additional resources to reliably meet the needs of the region,” explains Jon Wellinghoff, Voltus’s Chief Regulatory Officer and former Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. “Demand response is that resource - it’s readily available, clean, and puts money back into the pockets of the very businesses who have been most impacted by rising electricity costs.”

Chairman Wellinghoff continues: “The MPSC’s initial step in instituting a partial elimination of the aggregator ban is forward-thinking and impactful. It will deliver critically needed grid resources while providing the added benefit of lowering costs for consumers. We look forward to working with the Commission and its committed staff to develop rules to provide all energy consumers, regardless of size, access to these opportunities and unlock more cost-effective grid reliability.”

“Given the current economic conditions, energy consumers of all sizes are eager to generate revenue to reduce their electricity costs and support grid reliability. In fact, Voltus has already registered over 100 MW of capacity resources in Michigan,” says Gregg Dixon, Voltus’s CEO. “The MPSC’s order now creates wholesale market access for non-Choice, large energy users, which is a positive first step. Unfortunately, the order doesn’t allow this access to small and medium sized businesses who are oftentimes the most in need of financial relief and in aggregate, can provide hundreds of MW of grid reliability. We look forward to working with the MPSC and other states to bring more of these resources online.”

To enroll your business in Voltus’s demand response program in Michigan, contact [email protected]. To learn more about demand response visit our website, or sign-up for Voltus’s informational session on January 10, 2023.

About Voltus
Voltus is the leading software technology platform connecting nearly 2,600 MW of distributed energy resources to electricity markets, delivering less expensive, more reliable, and more sustainable electricity. Our commercial and industrial customers and DER partners generate cash by allowing Voltus to maximize the value of their flexible load, distributed generation, energy storage, energy efficiency, and electric vehicle resources in these markets. To learn more, visit www.voltus.co.

Media Contact - Voltus
Mona Khaldi
[email protected]