Last summer put demand response (DR) programs across the U.S. to the test. With recording breaking early-season heat in June, Uplight ran 45 unique events across 16 utility programs, managing 350 megawatts of load—enough to power approximately 300,000 homes.
Now, heading into summer 2026, we’re ready for an even more impactful season.
We’re entering the summer with:
- Nearly 1 million enrolled devices across our demand response portfolio;
- Projections of 1,600 events across the season;
- Nine new utilities using Predictive Capacity Dispatch (PCD) to firm up capacity, and;
- 24-hour monitoring through our Market Operations Center (MOC), so that utility programs have round-the-clock coverage throughout the season.
We’ve innovated new DR features to help utilities get the most out of each event.
Optimizing Dispatch: New Ways to Use PCD
This summer, PCD now offers more enhanced and sophisticated dispatch options to address different utility goals––all while managing load with precision.
Our original PCD model is designed to provide Maximum Capacity Dispatch, which delivers a firm load shift across each hour of an event while maximizing the total load shed. This method is ideal for utilities whose primary goal is delivering as much load relief as possible.
Now, we also offer Target Capacity Dispatch for PCD, giving utilities a new level of control. Rather than dispatching for maximum load shed, utilities can set a specific capacity target for each event. Uplight’s forecast and optimization engine then dispatches only the number of customers needed to hit that target across the event window––holding some back entirely or dispatching them for only a portion of the event.
This is particularly valuable for utilities looking to make DR a more precise, controllable resource, or preserving customer comfort and satisfaction by limiting event participation.
Customer Event Length Optimization allows utilities to limit how long each individual customer participates in an event, without shortening the overall event window.
For example, a utility running a four-hour or longer event can configure individual customer participation to cap at any event length—including the option to reflect previous event lengths. This helps maintain customer satisfaction and limits opt-out rates, while still offering utilities a sustained block of aggregate load shift.
The PCD optimization models account for the snapback effects of customers cycling out mid-event to keep overall load shift flat and firm throughout.
We now offer utilities Thermostat Telemetry, which allows PCD models to work with device-specific signals rather than AMI data. With telemetry data, we expect faster feedback, fewer data gaps, and optimization logic that reflects thermostat performance without any interference from other devices.
These enhancements and new capabilities, centered on more predictive and accurate dispatch strategies, build on the strong foundation we have already established with our utilities to help them treat load as a reliable, controllable resource this summer.
Additional DR Enhancements: Simplified Event Scheduling and Deeper DER Insights
Scheduling and dispatching DR or VPP events is simpler than ever with Portfolio Level Dispatch. The feature enables utilities to select several programs—such as smart thermostat, managed EV charging, and battery storage programs—in a single step, instead of configuring each one up separately.
Utilities can now share individual Event Results Tables to customers in post-event notifications with a simple email clip. By sharing personalized performance immediately, utilities can keep customers informed, satisfied, and motivated by their impact.
Tapping into battery storage in DR programs can scale load shed. But, batteries typically suffer from declining performance after 5+ years of optimized use. Uplight now uses Custom Attributes to take these limits into consideration during planning and event dispatch—helping utilities forecast and measure program performance more accurately.
Summer 2025 proved that demand response delivers when the grid needs it most. Summer 2026 is offering utilities new DR use cases, optimized event performance, and dependable capacity—helping utilities rely on their Demand Stack with the same trust as their supply stack.
Learn more about how Uplight’s Demand Response and Predictive Capacity Dispatch solutions deliver capacity to improve grid reliability and energy affordability cost-effectively.
