Why Leap Expanded Into ELRP A.4, and What It Means for Batteries

Last month, Leap announced an expansion of our offering within California’s Emergency Load Reduction Program (ELRP). Today, I want to unpack what that expansion means, why we prioritized ELRP A.4, and what makes this new program launch especially valuable for our battery storage partners.

ELRP 101

ELRP is California's pay-for-performance emergency response program: participants earn revenue for verified energy reductions and energy exports during periods of grid stress between May and October. 

The program is administered by the state's investor-owned utilities and organized into Subgroup programs by factors like customer type, resource type, and overlap with other grid programs. Leap has supported partners in ELRP Group B for several years and has now expanded into Subgroup A.4, the pathway built specifically for behind-the-meter battery virtual power plants (VPPs).

Why ELRP A.4?

Battery storage is quickly becoming one of California's most valuable resources for grid reliability.

As of August 2026, California had more than 21,000 MW of battery capacity serving the grid, up from less than 700 MW in 2019. That includes approximately 3,000 MW from more than 300,000 smaller battery systems installed at homes, schools, farms, businesses, and industrial facilities across the state, according to the California Energy Commission.

But installing a battery doesn’t automatically make its flexibility available to the grid, and a large share of battery systems still don’t participate in any kind of VPP. 

That leaves valuable capacity on the sidelines. The batteries already exist, the investment has already been made, and many systems can be controlled remotely. What’s often missing is an accessible program and a scalable way to enroll them.

At Leap, we were particularly interested in ELRP A.4 in order to create another opportunity for batteries that can’t participate in (or aren’t the best fit for) other California grid programs. 

That’s become even more important given the uncertain future of California’s Demand Side Grid Support (DSGS) program. Despite its success, California’s final 2026 budget legislation did not include additional funding for DSGS in 2027. The program itself hasn’t been eliminated and could still receive funding through a future legislative or budget process, but there’s currently no guarantee that it will continue into next year or beyond.

Expanding access to ELRP A.4 gives our partners another pathway to keep their batteries earning grid revenue as California’s program landscape evolves.

The advantages of Leap’s ELRP A.4 offering

ELRP A.4 covers virtual power plants made up of behind-the-meter batteries. Eligible portfolios can include batteries paired with net-metered solar as well as stand-alone storage at residential or commercial sites. 

ELRP A.4 could help fill a potential DSGS-shaped gap in the California VPP value stack, offering two of the same advantages that made the program so valuable for batteries: it recognizes energy exports and supports a lower-friction enrollment model. Leap’s platform is designed to help partners take advantage of both while automating the operational work required to participate.

Unlocking the full value of exports

A battery supports the grid two ways: by reducing the customer's draw from the grid, and by discharging beyond onsite demand to export the surplus. A program that only compensates reduced consumption leaves the second lever unused.

ELRP A.4 counts eligible exports as incremental load reduction, so compensation isn’t capped by how much electricity the building or home happens to be consuming during the event. Partners can activate more of the battery’s available power, earn revenue from capacity that might otherwise go unused, and deliver a larger grid impact from the same installed system.

Capturing that value in practice requires coordinating across assets to respond quickly and reliably to grid events, accurately measuring exports, and translating the results into accurate settlements. Leap’s platform automates these workflows from dispatch through performance and revenue reporting. Partners can manage their ELRP A.4 portfolio through the same interface and APIs they use for other Leap programs, reducing the need for spreadsheets, manual handoffs, or program-specific internal tools.

Scaling participation through direct enrollment 

ELRP A.4 also supports multiple enrollment options, including one that allows partners to enroll eligible portfolios directly instead of routing every customer through a separate utility authorization that can be notoriously difficult to get post-installation. Customers that have agreed to be enrolled in grid services programs are notified about their participation, receive the applicable program information, and retain the ability to disenroll from the program or opt out of specific dispatch events at any time.

This approach shifts the enrollment lift for Leap partners from thousands of individual sign-ups to a single, automated bulk upload process through the Leap platform. It's the same auto-enrollment pathway we've built for our partners across other programs — including DSGS — and it’s consistently led to dramatically higher participation rates than traditional opt-in models. 

The auto-enrollment option for ELRP A.4 – which complements other enrollment options –  increases revenue for Leap partners, makes it easier for their customers to sign-up, and helps ensure more distributed energy resources are put to use helping the grid. 

Looking ahead

California has already installed substantial battery capacity, but program design and enrollment friction often prevent the grid from using — and compensating — the full flexibility of those systems. ELRP A.4 helps close these gaps by recognizing battery exports and giving qualified providers a more scalable way to activate customer portfolios.

With DSGS funding uncertain heading into 2027, having more than one viable revenue pathway matters more than it used to. Leap will keep evaluating programs like this one, working with grid operators to make them accessible, and helping our partners build the best possible value stack for their batteries.