We had a great time at this year’s annual AESP Annual Conference, which brought together over 280 organizations and nearly 70 utilities to discuss challenges, opportunities, and the future of clean energy and demand-side management. Uplight participated in several discussions and shared learnings from our utility partnerships.
Recognition for Innovation in Demand Flexibility with SMUD
We were honored to be recognized alongside Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) for Innovation in Demand Flexibility! Together, our teams designed, developed, tested, and refined Predictive Capacity Dispatch (PCD), a suite of advanced tools that make thermostat demand response (DR) programs as predictable and reliable as other resources in the supply stack.
PCD’s novel event dispatch strategy created subgroups, based on opt-out rates, customer behavior, and thermostat OEM, within SMUD’s thermostat portfolio, and dispatched them in a staggered sequence. This meant customers participated in DR events for 1-3 hours instead of four, collectively delivering consistent performance across multi-hour events. Implementation results showed 98% forecast accuracy, a 5% reduction in customer opt-outs, and a 148% reduction in hourly performance variation.
Based on these outcomes, PCD has been implemented as SMUD’s standard approach for their My Energy Optimizer program and integrated into Uplight’s Flex DERMS platform, demonstrating the value of utility-vendor collaboration.
Industry Discussions on Key Energy Themes
Understanding and improving the electrification customer journey
Elizabeth Korb, Staff UX Researcher at Uplight, participated in a panel with experts from Shifted Energy and Elevate Energy, examining consumer experiences with home electrification. The discussion covered adoption factors, communication approaches, and the impact of Inflation Reduction Act incentives on customer decisions.
Elizabeth presented Uplight’s primary research findings on home electrification, including how customers talk about electrification, the reasons why they go electric, and barriers to electrification.
Scaling programs from DR to VPPs
Sadia Raveedran, VP of Industry Solutions at Uplight, moderated a discussion with representatives from Renew Home, Alliant Energy, and Alabama Power on developing effective Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) to manage load growth. The conversation explored methods for scaling demand response (DR) while maintaining customer satisfaction.
Participants shared perspectives on gaining internal support, creating predictable capacity through VPPs, and testing and learning throughout the process – all while balancing customer experience with load shifted.
Enhancing Customer Engagement With Simplified Data
Emily Rich, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Uplight, joined specialists from Abode Energy Management and MyHEAT to discuss how simplified data can improve customer engagement. The panel addressed ways to help customers navigate increasingly complex energy decisions amid evolving technologies.
Panelists shared case studies on leveraging data for both residential and business customers.
See you next year, AESP!
The conversations at this year’s AESP Annual Conference reflect the industry’s continued focus on clean energy advancement through both technology and customer-centered solutions. As utilities work through challenges related to electrification, load growth, grid reliability, and engagement, these discussions provide valuable learnings and insights that we can take back to our organizations.
AESP Annual is always a highlight for the Uplight team. We value the opportunity to collaborate with our utility partners and industry colleagues as we collectively work toward a more sustainable energy future.
Check out the upcoming events we’ll be attending in 2025!
