As we welcome the official start of summer, knowing that elevated temperatures have already tested grid conditions, Leap is working hard to make sure that the virtual power plants (VPPs) we manage, leveraging our partners’ distributed energy resources (DERs), are ready for peak performance.

VPPs have the potential to make significant flexible load available to grid operators during times of high demand. The recent report by The Brattle Group found that “a VPP that leverages residential load flexibility could perform as reliably as conventional resources and contribute to resource adequacy at a similar scale.” 

Yet, it’s critical that these resources can be counted on during grid events. Every DER that’s enrolled in a Leap-powered grid services program is expected to perform in a way that’s consistent with its nomination or commitment to the market. Whether it’s by curtailing flexible load or discharging energy back to the grid, high performance is the measurement of how an asset responds relative to expectations – or a commitment to the market – during a dispatch. 

At Leap, we are obsessed with performance for a number of reasons. As a partner-focused company, we want to make sure that our partners are maximizing their revenue potential during grid events through high performance. As an aggregator of tens of thousands of DERs, we want to ensure that those resources perform as well as possible to bolster our ability to lock up future market awards, which we can then extend to our partners as revenue opportunities.

As builders of VPPs around the country, we work with many different markets and regulating entities, who are carefully assessing the predictability and reliability of VPPs to inform future programs for DERs. And finally, as a company on a mission to decarbonize the world’s electric grids, better, more predictable performance of the DERs under our management will give regulators the confidence that DERs are a reliable firming resource to aid in  a faster transition to a carbon-free grid, which is vitally important to us, our partners and their customers.

New platform capabilities to improve performance

This summer, Leap is releasing a number of new platform capabilities designed to help partners better prepare for high performance, more quickly understand their performance following an event and more easily determine the steps to take to improve performance. 

Updated dispatch API: Through the Leap Dispatch API V2, partners can automate the way they receive dispatch notices, increasing both operational efficiency and performance especially when responding to short-notice dispatches. An updated dispatch API is making it easier for partners to prioritize multiple same-day or overlapping dispatches, which can frequently occur during heat waves. The improvements include new data streams to help partners optimize dispatch strategies for resources that may be called upon several times during a single day or multiple days in a row, as well as support for automated dispatching across the full Leap value stack, including ELRP in California.

New Analytics capabilities: Improving performance depends on being able to quickly analyze resources after an event. New analytics capabilities in the Leap platform improve partners’ access to event data and make it easier to identify underperforming meters and flag them for additional troubleshooting. Through a new Analytics tab and table in the partner portal, partners can visualize and assess performance data for individual meters, groups of meters, time periods and programs along with other filter criteria. Additionally, load and performance data are also available through a new Analytics API. 

New Analytics tab in the Leap partner portal

Leap is committed to helping our partners achieve high performance from their DER portfolios this summer and year-round. Our Partner Success team is available for consultative sessions to review performance and recommend improvement steps using new platform capabilities and other approaches. Get in touch to learn more.