Virtual Power Plant (VPP) Explorer

Halcyon's VPP Explorer is a Grid that compiles comprehensive information on virtual power plant and demand-side management programs offered by U.S. utilities and states. Every Halcyon-built column has a purple checkmark to indicate it has been QA'd and verified by Halcyon subject-matter experts. The original source is cited and linked at the cell level; the Data Subscription is continuously updated.

The VPP Explorer covers programs and riders from utilities and statewide administrators (spanning CAISO, ERCOT, ISO-NE, MISO, NYISO, PJM, SPP, and non-ISO/RTO territories) in which utilities or third parties directly control distributed energy resources or direct load control devices to provide flexible capacity, distribution grid services, energy to offset reserve margin requirements, or emergency load reductions.

Programs range from early-stage pre-enrollment to fully mature, with structures including bring-your-own-device, aggregation, storage, flex demand response, peak demand response, interruptible riders, and more. Program details are drawn from Halcyon's catalog of regulatory filings from all 50 state public utility commissions plus the District of Columbia, including distribution system plans, rate cases, demand-side management dockets, and integrated resource plans.

Each program entry includes the administering utility (or "Statewide" for state-administered programs), state, ISO/RTO, a brief description of program structure, technology eligibility, and goals, the rate schedule or rider that governs compensation, eligible customer classes, and approval status. Entries also capture the administrative model (utility-administered, third-party administered under contract with the utility or state, utility-administered through a third-party platform, direct participation in wholesale markets through an aggregator, or statewide agency), details on the administrative model, including information on the the sharing of administrative roles between utilities and third-party implementers , and the contracted vendor responsible for dispatching devices, supplying DERMS, or aggregating and enrolling customers, such as EnergyHub, Enel, Itron, Uplight, and Connected Energy.

Where available, entries add participation caps and enrolled customers or capacity, budget caps, future budgets, and historical expenditures relative to budget, the minimum flexible capacity (kW) a customer must provide to participate, and the capacity contribution pathway (utility resource planning, ISO/RTO markets, or both). Four incentive columns record the maximum enrollment incentive, the maximum reservation incentive for providing flexible capacity regardless of performance, the maximum performance incentive for verified capacity, and the maximum performance incentive for verified energy reductions, primarily in $/kWh.

The 18 curated columns are a starting point. Like any Grid, the VPP Explorer organizes programs as rows and questions as columns, so you can add your own columns to ask questions across every program in the Data Subscription.

Common examples include telemetry or metering requirements to participate, how the utility calculates the incentive value for each participation pathway, how many events can be called per season and with how much notice, how performance is verified, and how program costs are recovered. See the Column Creation Guide for help choosing the right response format for each question.

Halcyon adds new programs to the VPP Explorer as they are filed and approved. To access the Explorer or learn more, contact dataproducts@halcyon.io.

The VPP Explorer includes the following Halcyon-built columns. Every Halcyon-built column has a purple checkmark to indicate it has been QA'd and verified by Halcyon subject-matter experts. The first column is the name of the VPP Program; the remaining 18 are the curated data columns.

You can add your own columns alongside these at any time. Custom columns you add will not have the purple checkmark because custom columns are not reviewed by Halcyon subject-matter experts.

You can export your Grid at any time. That export will be a snapshot. If the Grid has live rows or a set update frequency, it will stay current.