Oakland, Calif. — A significant stride in energy management is unfolding in California as Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) introduces SHARE (Smart Home Assets for Reliability and Efficiency), a pioneering Virtual Power Plant (VPP) aimed at enhancing community benefits from increasing electricity demand while maintaining affordability and reliability statewide.
Collaborating with Rewiring America, Google, Carrier Global Corporation, Tesla, Sunrun, Renew Home, Demand Side Analytics, encoord, and several other partners, PG&E will implement the new VPP across Bay Area communities. This initiative integrates home batteries, smart devices, and battery-enabled heat pumps to curb energy consumption during periods of high demand.
A Revolutionary Energy Initiative
SHARE represents an innovative approach to augmenting electric capacity, enhancing reliability, and applying downward pressure on energy rates. This VPP proof-of-concept leverages both existing home energy devices and the deployment of privately funded electrification technologies to address the growing demand for electricity.
“This is about delivering power at the speed our economy demands—while improving affordability and reliability for the people we serve,” asserted Chelle Izzi, Chief Commercial Officer, PG&E. The initiative underlines the potential of customer investments in unlocking grid capacity and supporting community growth.
Addressing National Energy Needs
With a nationwide rise in electric demand triggered by increased reliance on electricity by businesses, vehicles, and residences, PG&E is dedicated to modernizing the electric system for long-term growth. The SHARE program supplements these efforts by focusing on homes located in high-demand areas.
- Enhancing reliability and reducing costs through effective use of flexible home energy resources.
- Expanding capacity to meet high demand.
- Supporting emerging energy users promptly.
In collaboration with Tesla, Sunrun, and Renew Home, PG&E aims to enroll about 21,000 existing energy devices into the program. Participating households will benefit from advanced energy management solutions, earning rewards for smart device usage and optimizing infrastructure use during peak periods. The initiative is set to impact the grid by fall 2026.
“Home energy devices hold enormous, untapped capacity that can meaningfully improve affordability and reliability for all Californians,” stated Mary Powell, CEO of Sunrun. This initiative taps into this potential, offering customers a share in the economic benefits of a more efficient local grid.
Carrier, the launch partner for new deployments, provides battery-enabled heat pumps that store and shift energy usage to lower costs and support grid reliability during peak demands. “As energy demand grows, SHARE demonstrates how Carrier can help deliver distributed capacity with the firmness to scale as a fast and reliable grid resource,” noted Hakan Yilmaz, President, Carrier Energy & Chief Sustainability Officer.
Eligible residents in Santa Clara and Alameda counties will receive:
- New high-efficiency, battery-enabled heat pumps from Carrier.
- Reduced monthly energy costs through smart energy management.
- Improved comfort and home resilience.
These resources will be coordinated into a distributed power plant by PG&E and Demand Side Analytics to unlock more capacity on the regional electric transmission system.
Commitment to Customer Protection
SHARE embodies a collective commitment to responsible energy growth, ensuring existing customers benefit from increased grid capacity. Google will fully fund the program, supporting customer incentives, technology deployment, and delivery.
“As demand scales, our current electricity grid can bridge the gap—if we optimize it correctly,” said Amanda Peterson Corio, Global Head of Energy & Power at Google. This program aims to bolster grid capacity and resiliency while offering local community benefits.
Rewiring America will work closely with households to deploy energy-saving electric technologies, enhancing customer experiences and grid flexibility. Local installers will ensure projects meet high standards. “This initiative shows how households can be part of the energy solution,” expressed Ari Matusiak, Founder and CEO of Rewiring America.
PG&E will oversee planning, analysis, and validation to assess customer impacts, system performance, and long-term benefits.
Original Story at www.rewiringamerica.org