Voltus Helps Mitigate the Impact of Winter Storm Elliott by Providing 11.6 GWh of Electricity Reduction Across the US and Canada
Voltus customers provided critical grid relief as extreme weather and record low temperatures impacted millions during the holidays
SAN FRANCISCO and BOSTON, Jan. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Voltus, Inc. (“Voltus”), the leading distributed energy resource (DER) software platform, today announced that its portfolio of customers provided 11.6 GWh of critical electricity reduction to the PJM Interconnection (PJM), Southwest Power Pool (SPP), Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO), and New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) during late December’s Winter Storm Elliott. Voltus’s portfolio was dispatched 177 times across 11 programs, helping prevent widespread outages throughout these regions. PJM’s entire Emergency Load Response Program was dispatched for the first time since 2014, an indication of the strain Winter Storm Elliott placed on electric grids across most of the US.
“Millions of people were at risk of experiencing grid failures during the holiday weekend, underscoring the need for demand-side resources to help keep the lights on during these increasingly frequent extreme weather events,” explains Stephanie Hendricks, Voltus’s Senior Vice President of Operations and Customer Success. “By enrolling in these programs before disaster hits, our customers’ businesses are ready to help protect communities by quickly responding to the needs of the grid. We want to thank our customers in PJM, SPP, MISO, AESO, and NYISO for helping to mitigate the impact of this storm, allowing these communities to focus on celebrating the holiday season.”
As climate-related disasters continue to rise, including extreme weather events, so do electric grid emergencies. One report from Climate Central concluded that power outages have increased 64% over the last ten years, in comparison to the previous decade; between 2000 and 2021, 83% of outages were caused by weather-related events. Demand response helps prevent these outages from occurring or reduces their impact when they do occur. Customers are able to participate in a variety of ways based on their operational flexibility – from reducing electricity usage for short periods of time or shifting operations for longer durations to switching to back-up generation or energy storage.
“During events like Winter Storm Elliott, we do everything we can to safely reduce load from the grid so that service is not interrupted for the rest of our community,” says Chris Thurston, Director of Energy & Sustainability at Lineage Logistics. “Voltus makes it easy to mitigate the impact of rising energy costs and support grid reliability.”
“Voltus helps us prepare for extreme weather events like Winter Storm Elliott,” says Joe Vicini, Vice President of Manufacturing at Tropical Cheese Industries. “We worked with Voltus to develop a curtailment plan to shift operations during demand response events. Participating in demand response is a win-win for our community and for us.”
Many Voltus customers were also positioned to avoid the inevitable surges in electricity pricing that occurred during this period of intense electricity demand. Voltus’s Chief Product Officer Dana Guernsey adds, “During Winter Storm Elliott, we saw Locational Marginal Pricing climb to over $4,400/MWh in PJM and $3,500/MWh in MISO. By enrolling in Voltus’s Price Response programs, customers can set a strike price and offer into the day-ahead and real-time energy markets, avoiding the hefty operational expenses associated with these price spikes while earning significant income.”
To learn how your business can prepare for extreme weather events and get paid to help keep the lights on in your community, contact info@voltus.co.
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
press@voltus.co
