NJ BPU proposes 2-year VPP program opening to home batteries
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- NJ Board of Public Utilities released a straw proposal July 15 for a two-year, technology-neutral VPP program administered by the state's four electric distribution companies and launching no later than July 1, 2027, with written comments due Aug. 17.
- Customer-sited batteries, EVs and other distributed energy resources would be eligible and, where permitted, could stack distribution-level grid service payments with PJM Interconnection wholesale market participation payments.
- The proposal fulfills Executive Order No. 2 from Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who took office in January and directed the BPU to develop a VPP program within 180 days that leverages existing demand response programs and enables DER participation in the PJM capacity market.
- PSE&G plans to roll out a VPP program this month offering roughly $5,000 upfront for an 8-kW home battery plus on-bill repayment for the remaining installation balance, in exchange for letting the utility discharge the battery during peak-shaving events.
- Pepco Holdings' Delaware "bring your own battery" pilot enrolls 100-to-300 devices, with Delmarva Power customers receiving an estimated $1,080 in annual performance payments via direct deposit — a figure manager Andrew Bayne said the pilot is testing whether customers consider "worth the squeeze."
- PSE&G's Tim Fagan urged New Jersey to consider letting electric distribution companies own energy storage as a backstop, citing recent shortfalls in geographically targeted customer-sited battery procurements in Hawaii and Massachusetts.
Why it matters: New Jersey becomes one of a growing number of states in both restructured and vertically integrated markets moving toward open-access VPP programs that let non-utility companies aggregate small-scale DERs. The transitional phase leverages existing utility advanced metering infrastructure and Triennium demand response customers before a 2029 open-access phase requiring substantial EDC investment and third-party systems integration — and PSE&G's push for EDC-owned storage signals a brewing contest over which entities capture value from residential aggregation.
