Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
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The Demand Side Grid Support (DSGS) Program is a program that provides incentives to customers who reduce their energy use during extreme events.
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Olivine is a California-based company focused on helping the state meet its ambitious renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction goals. Olivine, Inc. is the Program Administrator for the California Energy Commission’s (CEC’s) DSGS Program, providing the program’s infrastructure and program management. To learn more about Olivine, please visit www.olivineinc.com.
Program Questions
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The program season runs from May 1 through October 31 each year.
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DSGS Program funding is authorized under Assembly Bill 205 (Ting, Chapter 61, Statutes of 2022), Assembly Bill 102 (Ting, Chapter 28, Statutes of 2023), Assembly Bill 107 (Gabriel, Chapter 22, Statutes of 2024), and Senate Bill 108 (Wiener, Chapter 35, Statutes of 2024) to operate through June 30, 2032. To date, $109.5 million has been allocated to the program with no new funding allocations authorized in the 2025-26 Budget. If additional funding is authorized for the program to continue beyond the upcoming 2026 program season, CEC staff will engage in further analysis and public dialogue to explore additional opportunities and challenges raised to ensure DSGS effectively meets its goals.
Per DSGS guidelines, payments for participation in DSGS are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The CEC will provide estimates and updates of DSGS Program expenditures and available funding annually once activity is reconciled.
How much has been paid in incentives so far?
The DSGS Program has paid a total of approximately $60.4million in incentives to date. The table below breaks down incentive payments for each program season as of May 2025. Incentives for the 2025 program season are being finalized but are anticipated to not exceed $46 million.
Program Season Total Incentives Paid 2022 $7,877,373.37 2023 $296,248.47 2024 $9,498,925.95 2025 $45,091,695.38 -
Below is the amount of estimated capacity enrolled in the DSGS Program for the 202 program season, as reported by DSGS providers and direct participants.
Updates coming soon!
Incentive Option May (MW) June (MW) July (MW) August (MW) September (MW) October (MW) Incentive Option 2: Market-Integrated Demand Response Incremental Capacity Pilot Incentive Option 3: Market-Aware Storage VPP Pilot Incentive Option 4: Emergency Load Flexibility Pilot Total -
In the 2026 program season, $1 million is available for funding Option 2 performance-based capacity payments across all Option 2 participating providers. If additional funding becomes available through the 2026-27 budget process, up to $3 million is available for Option 2. Available Option 2 funds shall be allocated to each participating provider based on the method described in Appendix A of the DSGS Guidelines. Any funds remaining after the end-of-season allocations may be reallocated to the 2026 funding pool for Option 3.
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In the 2026 program season, $19.5 million is available to fund Option 3 performance-based capacity payments. If additional funding becomes available through the 2026-2027 budget process, up to $42.7 million is available for Option 3. Funds will be allocated to each aggregator based on the method described in the Option 3 Compensation Allocation Method in Appendix A of the DSGS Guidelines.
Except for VPP aggregators of bi-directional EVSEs, participation in the 2026 season is limited to storage VPP aggregators that participated in October 2025.
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Due to budget constraints, the Option 4 MaxCC, or the maximum allow total committed capacity across all aggregators, is limited to 75 MW of committed capacity each month across all participating aggregators (up to $5,452,200 total for the program season). If additional funding becomes available through the 2026-2027 budget process, the Option 4 MaxCC of committed capacity each month in the second quarter of the season will increase to 100 MW (up to $7,269,600 total for the program season).
In case the total committed capacity nominated by providers in a month exceeds MaxCC, the CEC will allocate the MaxCC to the participating providers as described in Appendix A of the DSGS Guidelines. In this case, the aggregators will be provided an opportunity to adjust the device enrollment level, at their discretion, in line with their allocated capacity and re-submit the enrollment data prior to the start of the month.
If the total committed capacity nominated by providers is less than the MaxCC in any month of the first program quarter, then the funds associated with the unutilized capacity in first quarter will be added to the funding pool available for the second program quarter. With those funds, the MaxCC for each month of the second program quarter will be increased, such that the projected compensation at 120% performance over the program season is consistent with the funding limited set for Option 4.
Any funds remaining after the end of season compensation payout may be reallocated to the 2026 funding pool for Option 3.
Enrollment Questions
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Eligible participants are:
- All customers of Publicly Owned Utilities (POUs)
- All customers of Federal Power Marketing Administrations (FPMAs)
- All customers of tribal utilities
- The following customers of Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs), energy service providers, and electrical corporations:
- Customers participating with backup generators.
- Customers participating through participation Option 2, Option 3, or Option 4 described in Chapter 4, Chapter 5, and Chapter 6 respectively, of the DSGS Guidelines.
- Water agencies, which include water utilities, wastewater facilities, and irrigation districts.
- A participant is not eligible to enroll in DSGS or receive compensation for incremental performance (also referred to as “demonstrated capacity”, as defined in the DSGS guidelines for participation option 3&4, and “incremental demonstrated capacity”, as defined in the DSGS guidelines for participation option 2) attributed to the participant’s load-reduction resource enrolled in DSGS, if the participant’s load reduction resource:
- Is also enrolled in the Emergency Load Reduction Program, the Base Interruptible Program, or the Agricultural Pump Interruptible Program.
- Receives compensation for the same incremental performance through any other utility, CCA, LSE, or state program designed to procure demand response, net load reduction, or grid services during an interval that coincides or overlaps with the DSGS event interval, except the utility, CCA, or LSE rate plan applicable to the load reduction resource.
- Is a cogeneration facility with a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
- If a participant has a power purchase agreement for a renewable generator at the same site as a cogeneration facility, but not one for the cogeneration facility, this does not make the participant ineligible to participate.
- Eligibility to participate in both the DSGS Program and other utility, CCA, or state programs will be reevaluated each year and guidance may be updated to ensure participation in the DSGS Program is consistent with the dual-compensation prohibition described above.
- DSGS providers may include additional eligibility requirements for their participants.
- Customers must also meet the eligibility requirements specific to the participation option in which they are enrolled. See the “Are there additional DSGS Participant eligibility requirements for each Participation Option?” section for more information.
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Additional participant and Virtual Power Plant (VPP) aggregation eligibility requirements apply for Participation Options 2, 3 and 4.
Additional Option 2 Participation Requirements:
- Participants must be enrolled in a Proxy Demand Resource (PDR) participating in the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) and registered to an Option 2 provider. DR providers must collect and retain participant information, which may be reviewed by the CEC in an audit, as described in Chapter 8, Section D.
Additional Option 3 Participant Requirements:
Except for VPP aggregators of bi-directional EVSEs, participation in the 2026 season is limited to storage VPP aggregators that participated in October 2025. At a minimum, each customer site participating in a market-aware storage VPP must:
- Have an operational stationary battery system or electric vehicle (EV) with bidirectional electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) capable of discharging at least 1 kW for at least two hours during a program event.
- Provide no more than 2,000 kW discharge during any hour of a program event.
- A customer site may participate with a stationary battery system capable of discharging greater than or equal to 2,000 kW but any net discharge greater than 2,000 kW during a DSGS event hour will not be offered incentives.
- Have permission from the host utility to operate the stationary battery storage system or bidirectional EVSE in parallel to the utility’s grid (for example, under a Rule 21 tariff) and operate in a manner compliant with existing rules and tariffs applicable to the site. \
- UL 1741-SB listing of bi-directional EVSE is not required for participation in a DSGS VPP.
- Not be participating in a CAISO proxy demand resource (PDR) or reliability demand response resource (RDRR), unless either:
- The participant’s customer energy baseline reflects total gross consumption (that is, consumption independent of any energy produced or consumed by behind-the-meter battery storage) consistent with California ISO tariff Section 4.13.4, or
- The participant is enrolled in DSGS with a stationary export-only resource, as described in Chapter 5 Section E of the
If a participant is identified as participating in a conflicting program, the participant’s DSGS provider will be notified, and the participant shall be suspended from participation indefinitely until the conflict is resolved.
A DSGS provider serving as a storage VPP aggregator for more than one partner company may consider each partner company’s battery aggregation to be separate and distinct VPPs that will be measured and compensated independently. In this case, the storage VPP aggregator must submit separate entries for each partner’s aggregation and identify the partner for each participating site in the enrolled participation report. Each partner must be able to meet all other aggregator requirements, such as the minimum aggregate nameplate power.
Additional Option 4 Participant Requirements:
At a minimum, each participating site in a load flexibility VPP must:
- Have an operational eligibility equipment device capable of reducing net load in response to a dispatch signal by the VPP aggregator by changing device operational mode, temperature setpoint, or other method. Device operational changes through behavioral actions are not eligible
- Not be participating in a California ISO PDR or RDRR, or registered in the California ISO DRRS
- Not be a distribution service customer of Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)
If a participant is identified as participating in a conflicting program, the participant’s DSGS provider will be notified, and the participant shall be suspended from participation indefinitely until the conflict is resolved.
Additional Option 4 Load Flexibility VPP Aggregation Requirements:
- Consist of a single device type of one of the following:
- Smart thermostats with runtime monitoring capability controlling air conditioning units, including heat pumps, without load monitoring capability
- Smart thermostat with load monitoring capability controlling-controlled air conditioning units, including heat pumps
- Heat pump water heaters
- Electric resistance water heaters
- Electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) – do not need to be bi-directional
- Residential smart electrical panels (also known as circuit breaker box or service panel)
- Consist of dispatchable devices located at residential (bundled or unbundled), nonresidential (bundled or unbundled) customer sites, or both
- Consist of customer sites located within the same utility service territory
VPP aggregators may submit proposals to the CEC for approval to qualify other load flexibility dispatchable resources as eligible for participation in Option 4. Proposals must be submitted at least 14 business days before the start of the participating quarter.
Proposals must include a description of
1) the resource,
2) how the resource will be dispatched to provide load reduction incremental to resource adequacy during a program event,
3) how the device load will be monitored,
4) how the committed capacity nominations will be determined, and
5) barriers impeding the proposed aggregation from participating in other existing programs (such as time-of-use and resource adequacy qualified demand response) for encouraging load reduction.
Proposal templates may be found on our Resource Page.
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Eligible DSGS Providers include:
- Retail suppliers as defined in Public Utilities Code (PUC) Section 398.2
- Federal Power Marketing Administrations (FPMAs)
- Aggregators* of customers
- Before enrolling customers in the service territory of a publicly owned utility (POU), aggregators of customers must complete the following:
- Notify the POU of their intent to enroll customers within the service territory of the utility (see Chapter 2, Section A of the Guidelines)
- Obtain a written statement from each applicable POU that the POU: does not object to the aggregator enrolling the POU’s customers to participate in the DSGS program, will provide the aggregator the data necessary for the aggregator to administer the DSGS program, as determined by the POU, subject to the aggregator (1) receiving authorization from participants and (2) entering into a data-sharing agreement with the POU, if required, and understands incurred costs associated with the DSGS program pursuant to Chapter 7, Section B, are reimbursable.
Aggregators must provide the CEC a copy of this statement within five business days of receipt. POUs may establish terms and conditions for
aggregators to enroll the POU’s customers to participate in the DSGS
Program, including protocols for communicating and coordinating with the
POU regarding program events and the circumstances under which the POU may grant or revoke the aggregator’s ability to enroll the POU’s customers in the DSGS Program. - Aggregators of bundled and unbundled customers must notify investor owned utilities (IOUs) and community choice aggregations (CCAs) in writing of their intent to enroll customers within their service territory of the respective load-serving entity. Aggregators must provide the CEC evidence of this notice within five business days of sending to the IOU or CCA.
- Before enrolling customers in the service territory of a publicly owned utility (POU), aggregators of customers must complete the following:
Incentive Options 2, 3 and 4 include additional DSGS provider eligibility requirements.
*An aggregator is an entity that enrolls multiple customers, manages the customer relationship, forms an aggregation of behind-the-meter resources of multiple customers to be dispatched in a coordinated manner in response to a signal for the benefit of a load-serving entity, utility or balancing authority, and receives DSGS compensation for performance delivered by its aggregation.
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Additional eligibility requirements apply for Participation Options 2, 3, and 4:
Option 2:
To be considered a Demand Response (DR) provider and eligible to administer Participation Option 2, a DSGS provider, or its authorized third party, must:
- Be a third-party demand response (DR) aggregator or publicly owned utility (POU)
- Operate within the California Independent System Operator (ISO) balancing authority area
- Have at least one proxy demand resource (PDR) registered to participate under the incremental market-integrated DR capacity pathway.
Option 3:
Except for VPP aggregators of bi-directional EVSEs, participation in the 2026 season is limited to storage VPP aggregators that participated in October 2025. To be considered storage VPP aggregator eligible to administer Participation Option 3, a DSGS provider, or its authorized third party, must:
- Be a third-party battery provider, third-party vehicle-to-load or grid (V2X) service provider, POU, or CCA
- POUs and CCAs may serve only customers for which they serve as the LSE or retail provider
- Receive authorization from participants allowing for use of their device for DSGS Program participation.
- Send dispatch signals to or directly control individual batteries participating in a market-aware VPP.
- Collect and provide hourly or sub-hourly charge/discharge interval data from a battery inverter or submeter to the CEC.
- Comply with the participants’ utility interconnection agreements (for example, a Rule 21 tariff). Dispatch in violation of an interconnection agreement is not eligible for performance-based capacity payments.
- Aggregate a total minimum nameplate power rating of 300 KW per aggregation for stationary storage assets or a total minimum nameplate power rating of 50 KW per aggregation for EVSEs
- For stationary storage assets, the total nominal power rating is determined by summing the nominal continuous power rating (kW) from the specification sheets of the individual storage devices within the aggregation.
- For aggregations of EVs, the total nominal power rating is determined by summing the nameplate discharge power rating (kW) from the specification sheets of the EVSE used by individual vehicle operators.
Option 4: To be considered a load flexibility virtual power plant (VPP) aggregator eligible to administer Participation Option 4, a DSGS provider, or its authorized third party, must:
- Be a third-party load flexibility provider, POU, or CCA
- POUs and CCAs may serve only customers for which they serve as the LSE or retail provider
- Receive authorization from participants allowing for the use of their device for program participation.
- Send dispatch signals to or directly control individual devices participating in the load flexibility VPP
- Collect and provide 15-minute or 5-minute load data from a smart thermostat-controlled HVAC system, or other eligible device, to the CEC. If HVAC load data is unavailable, then the HVAC runtime data from a smart thermostat can be provided as an alternative
- Aggregate a minimum of 100 kW of load reduction per aggregation (50 kW for EVSEs).
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Participation Option 1 is suspended for the 2026 program year due to budget constraints.
Participation Option 1: Standby and Energy Payment
Eligible participants must enroll to participate under Incentive Option 1 by submitting the following information to your DSGS provider. If enrolling directly with the CEC, utilize the DSGS Direct Enrollment Application Template.
- Legal name of the participant.
- Participant contact’s name, title, email address, and phone number.
- Utility distribution company, load-serving entity, customer identification number (such as service account identification number), phone number on file with the load-serving entity, or any other information necessary to verify participant eligibility with the load-serving entity, as appropriate.
- Information on the load-reduction resources the participant will use during a DSGS Program event, including:
- Types of available resources, including the applicable loading order category (for example, demand response, renewable or zero-emission resource, near zero-emission resource, biomethane or natural gas resource, or diesel backup generator or other conventional resource, or any combination of the above).
- Address and customer identification number where participant will deploy each resource.
- Expected minimum and maximum load-reduction capacity (in kilowatts [kW]) for each resource.
- Whether the resource may require a 202(c) emergency order pursuant to the Federal Power Act to participate in the DSGS Program.
- If the resource is a backup generator, information on whether the backup generation is portable or stationary, rated horsepower, fuel type used, and federal emissions tier.
- Notice time and ramp time required to respond to a DSGS event.
- Additionally, the DSGS participant must verify in writing that:
- The participant meets the eligibility requirements of the DSGS Guidelines to the best of their knowledge.
- The participant will allow the CEC access to all documentation to verify compliance with the program.
- The information submitted is accurate and complete.
- The participant agrees to the terms and conditions of the program.
Participants may use behind-the-meter combustion or non-combustion resources. Combustion resources involve oxidizing fuel to produce energy. The fuel can be solid, liquid, or gas. Non-combustion resources eligible under Option 1 are those that can reduce electric load during emergency events without combustion.
Participants must also provide any other information the DSGS provider or CEC deems necessary.
Participation Option 2: Market-Integrated Demand Response Incremental Capacity Pilot
Eligible participants must be enrolled in a proxy demand resource (PDR) participating in the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) energy market and registered to an Option 2 provider.
DR providers must collect and retain participant information such as California ISO Resource ID(s) for all resources under the aggregator enrolled in DSGS, number of end-use customers and customer class, sector, or load type of customers for each Resource ID and estimated incremental capacity not shown on any supply plan or other resource adequacy commitment, which may be reviewed by the CEC in an audit, as described in Chapter 8, Section D of the DSGS Program Guidelines.
Participation Option 3: Market-Aware Storage Virtual Power Plant Pilot
Storage VPP aggregators must collect and maintain the following information to enroll eligible participants under Participation Option 3:
- Legal name of the participant or name on the utility bill at the participating site
- If contact name is different from above: primary contact’s name and, if available, title
- Email address and phone number of participant or primary contact
- Valid service account address, valid service account or agreement identification number (SAID), or both
- Service account utility distribution company (UDC)
- Indication of whether service account is non-residential or residential
- Indication of whether the participating resource type is a stationary default, stationary export-only, stationary VNEM, or bi-directional EVSE.
- Indication of whether the service account is enrolled in PDR and participating as an export-only resource
- Authorization from the participant allowing for the use of their device charge and discharge data for purposes of program participation.
- Acknowledgement and agreement from the participant that:
- The participant meets the eligibility requirements of the DSGS Guidelines and is not enrolled or participating in a conflicting program to the best of their knowledge.
- The participant will allow the CEC access to all documentation to verify compliance with the program and program performance.
- The information submitted is accurate and complete.
- The participant agrees to the terms and conditions of the program.
- Any other information the storage VPP aggregator deems necessary.
Participant enrollment information may be reviewed by the CEC in an audit as described in Chapter 8, Section D in the DSGS Program Guidelines.
Participation Option 4: Emergency Load Flexibility Virtual Power Plant
Note that a load flexibility VPP aggregator must begin initial participation by May 1 to participate in the first program quarter and by August 1 to participate in the second quarter.
Load flexibility VPP aggregators must collect and maintain the following information to enroll eligible participants and their devices under Participation Option 4:
- Name of the participant
- Address at which the device is installed
- UDC for the above address
- Eligible equipment type for the device
- Authorization from the participant allowing for the use of their device load or runtime data for purposes of program participation
- Acknowledgement and agreement from the participant that the information submitted is accurate and complete.
- Any other information the load flexibility VPP aggregator deems necessary
Participant enrollment information may be reviewed by the CEC in an audit as described in Chapter 8, Section D in the DSGS Program Guidelines.
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Applicants to be DSGS providers must submit to the CEC the following information through the DSGS Provider Application Template.
- Legal name of the applicant.
- Applicant’s contact name, title, address, email address, and phone number
- Description of how the applicant will verify which load-reduction resources are used by participants
- Description of how the applicant will verify participant eligibility prior to enrollment of participants
- The DSGS participation options the applicant will offer to participants.
- If offering Participation Option 1
- Option 1 is suspended for the 2026 season:
- Description of how the applicant will implement the dispatch loading order requirements described in Chapter 3, Section D of the DSGS Program Guidelines.
- Description of how the applicant will verify actual incremental load reduction amounts, including the DSGS provider’s method for determining energy use baselines and actual energy usage during a DSGS program event
- Indication of which administrative cost structure described in Chapter 7, Section B, the DSGS provider has chosen
- If offering Participation Option 2:
- Description of how the applicant meets the eligibility requirements specific to the participation option and how the applicant plans to implement the program under the participation option, including details on how the applicant will allocate incentives to participants
- California Independent System Operator (CAISO) Demand Response Provider ID (DRP ID) and an attestation that the DRP has active proxy demand resources (PDRs)
- If offering Participation Option 3:
- Description of how the applicant meets the eligibility requirements specific to the participation option and how the applicant’s plans to implement the program under the participation option, including plan to allocate incentives to participants
- Description of the applicant’s plans to implement quality control on submetered charge and discharge data, including minimum standards for data completeness and quality
- If offering Participation Option 4:
- Description of how the applicant meets the eligibility requirements specific to the participation option and the applicant’s plans to implement the program under the participation option, including plans to allocate incentives to participants
- Description of the applicant’s plans to implement quality control on device level load data or smart thermostat runtime data, including minimum standards for data completeness and quality
- If the applicant is an aggregator of participants:
- A description of the types of customers (such as residential, commercial, industrial, and so forth) and load reduction resources the applicant plans to enroll and the utility territories in which the DSGS provider plans to operate
- Payee data record (STD-204). If the designated payee has already submitted a complete STD-204 form with a prior reimbursement claim and has received a payment within the past year from the CEC, a new STD-204 is not needed.
- Verification in writing of the accuracy and completeness of the information submitted and agreement to the terms and conditions of the DSGS Program Gu
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New applications are not required each year unless updating information or offering a new participation option
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Yes. The list of approved DSGS Providers include:
DSGS Provider Incentive
Options
OfferedContact Information Customer Type Utility Territories Description RenewHome 2 Email: markets@renewhome.com Residential, Small Commercial - PG&E
- SCE
- SDG&E
OhmConnect is a no-cost, no-risk service that notifies you when electricity prices spike in your neighborhood and pays you to save energy during those times. Lower your bills and get paid at the same time. Sunrun, Inc. 3 Name: Yang Yu
Title: Senior Business Development Manager
Email: yang.yu@sunrun.comResidential customers paired with solar charging batteries - PG&E
- SCE
- SDG&E
Olivine, Inc (ClimateResponse® VPP) 2, 3 Name: Vasudha Lathey
Title: Vice President
Phone: (925) 886-9222
Email: ask@climateresponse.comNonresidential with offerings for other customer types - PG&E
- SCE
- SDG&E
- Western Area Power Administration (WAPA)
- Pomona Choice Energy
- Lancaster Energy
- San Jacinto Power
- Rancho Mirage Energy Authority
- Pico Rivera Innovative Municipal Energy
- Energy for Palmdale’s Independent Choice
- Apple Valley Choice Energy
- City and County of San Francisco
Join Olivine’s ClimateResponse Virtual Power Plant (VPP) to earn revenue while mitigating the grid impacts of climate change. It’s free to join, there are no penalties, and you remain in control of your buildings. We are a certified woman-owned Disadvantaged Business Enterprise, transforming DER management by implementing innovative programs. We currently administer grid emergency programs across California under our Utility Services business, which is strictly firewalled from our VPP. Leap 2, 3, 4 Email: partners@leap.energy Commercial & Industrial, Residential - PG&E
- SCE
- SDG&E
The Leap Platform streamlines integration with DSGS for commercial and residential battery storage systems. Through its software-only solution and universal API, Leap enables fast, automated participation in DSGS and other energy market revenue opportunities for technology providers and operators. By aggregating the devices enrolled on its platform, Leap supplies virtual power plants (VPPs) to support the grid. PowerFlex Systems, LLC 3 Email: info@powerflex.com Commercial & Industrial - PG&E
- SDG&E
- San Diego Community Power
Lunar Energy, Inc 3 Email: acundy@lunarenergy.com Residential ESS - PG&E
- SCE
- SDG&E
Everbright, LLC 3 - PG&E
- SCE
- SDG&E
TotalEnergies
Renewable USA, LLC dBa TotalEnergies Distribute Generation USA, LLC3 Email: Energysolutions@totalenergies.com Small / Medium Business, Commercial & Industrial - PG&E
- SCE
- SDG&E
TotalEnergies is a top 5 US renewable energy players with 10GW of solar, wind, and battery storage installed by 2026. The Company also operates 1.5GW of flexible power capacity with 3 gas-fired power plants in TX. TotalEnergies is building a competitive portfolio that combines renewables and flexible assets to deliver clean firm power to its customers. Starting 2026, TotalEnergies had more than 34GW of gross renewable capacity and aims to achieve >100TWh of net electricity production by 2030. Tesla, Inc. 3 Email: vppsupport@tesla.com Residential, Tesla Powerwall owners - PG&E
- SCE
- SDG&E
- LADWP
Join with other Powerwall customers to create a virtual power plant. Support the California grid on critical summer evenings. You will get paid for the power you provide, and you are always in control. GoodLeap LLC. 3 Name: Ani Backa
Title: Vice President of Virtual Power Plants
Email: VPP@goodleap.com
- PG&E
- SDG&E
- SCE
- SMUD
- CPA
- MCE
- AVA
EnergyHub 4 Email: markets@energyhub.net
EnergyHub will be recruiting residential and small/medium business sites with eligible smart thermostats. - IOUs: SDG&E, SCE. CCAs (excluding PG&E territory): Ava Community Energy (formerly East Bay Community Energy); Central Coast Community Energy; Clean Energy Alliance; Clean Power Alliance; CleanPowerSF; Desert Community Energy; Palmdale EPIC Energy; Lancaster Energy; MCE Clean Energy; Peninsula Clean Energy; Orange County Power Authority; Pioneer Community Energy; Pomona Choice Energy; Rancho Mirage Energy; Redwood Energy; San Diego Community Power; San Jacinto Power; San Jose Clean Energy; Santa Barbara Clean Energy; Silicon Valley Clean Energy; Sonoma Clean Power; Valley Clean Energy.
Voltus 2,3 Name: Jared Satrom
Title: Director of Energy Markets - CAISO
Phone: (415) 463-4236
Email: jsatrom@voltus.coCommercial & Industrial - PG&E
- SDG&E
Voltus helps thousands of energy users across the US and Canada get paid to reduce energy use in response to grid stress, high prices, and high emissions through innovative demand response programs. View customer case studies, here. Find out more at www.voltus.co. Calibrant Energy 3 Commercial & Industrial - PG&E
- SCE
- SDG&E
Enphase 3 Phone: (877)-797-4743
Email: gridservicessupport@enphaseenergy.com
For questions about enrollment: DSGS Reward Program- PG&E
- SCE
- SDG&E
Please check back regularly for updates on new DSGS Providers.
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DSGS providers must submit the following reports on enrolled participation and backup generation:
Enrolled Participation Reports
Within 10 business days of the DSGS provider’s initial enrollment, or as soon as practicable, DSGS providers must submit to the CEC an Initial Report on enrolled participation with the information specified below for each Option. Thereafter, DSGS providers must submit to the CEC updated enrolled participation reports in a format provided by the CEC, as detailed below. If a site is not included in a participation report, that site may not be included in performance calculations for the period that is covered by that participation report.
- Participation Option 1: No later than three business days before the first day of the program season (May-October) and within five business days after any changes to participants enrolled or expected load reduction resources. Participation Option 1 is suspended for the 2026 year.
- Participation Option 2 and Option 3: No later than three business days before the first day of each month for all enrollments effective the first calendar day of that month.
- Participation Option 4: No later than five business days before the first day of each month for all enrollments effective the first calendar day of that month.
Participation Report for Participation Option 1
Participation Option 1 is suspended for the 2026 year due to budget constraints.
The Initial Report of the program season must include the following information on each participant enrolled under Incentive Option 1, segmented by host balancing authority, in a format provided by the CEC:
- Legal name of the participant
- Participant contact’s name, title, email address, and phone number
- If the participant is enrolling with an aggregator or the CEC: applicable utility distribution company (UDC) and load-serving entity (LSE), customer identification number (such as service account identification number), phone number on file with the load-serving entity, or any other information necessary to verify participant eligibility with the load-serving entity, as appropriate.
- Information on the load reduction resources the participant will use during a DSGS Program event, including:
- Types of available resources, including the applicable loading order category (for example, demand response, renewable or zero-emission resource, near-zero-emission resource, biomethane or natural gas resource, or diesel backup generator or other conventional resource, or any combination of the above).
- Address and customer identification number where the participant will deploy each resource
- Expected minimum and maximum load reduction amount (in kilowatts [kW]) for each resource
- qWhether the resource may require a 202(c) emergency order pursuant to the Federal Power Act to participate in the DSGS Program
- If the resource is a backup generator, information on whether the backup generation is portable or stationary, rated horsepower, fuel type used, and federal emissions tier.
- Notice time and ramp time required to respond to a DSGS event
Participation Report for Participation Option 2
- California Independent System Operator (CAISO) Resource ID(s) for all resources under the aggregator enrolled in DSGS
- Number of end-use customers and customer class, sector, or load type of customers for each Resource ID.
- Estimated incremental capacity not shown on any supply plan or other resource adequacy commitment
Participation Report for Incentive Option 3
Information on each participating site, including a unique identification number, partner company (if applicable), nominated duration (hours), customer class, valid utility service account number (for example, service agreement ID) or valid service account address, or both, UDC, number of inverters installed at each site, resource type (stationary default, stationary export-only, stationary VNEM, or EVSE), nameplate (that is, usable) battery system power rating (for nonvehicle behind-the-meter [BTM] storage) or nameplate discharge power rating for electric vehicle supply equipment(EVSE), and nameplate storage energy capacity (for stationary storage devices, in kWh), and estimated full duration event discharge (kWh)
Participant Report for Incentive Option 4
- The UDC service territory and device type for each aggregation participating in the DSGS Program. DSGS providers should submit no more than one entry for each combination of UDC and device type.
- Information on each participating device, including a unique identification number, device type, utility service account number (for example, service agreement ID) or service account address or both, UDC, and connected load estimate. The connected load estimate shall be entered as 2.5 kW for smart thermostats without direct load measurement or the estimated maximum instantaneous power draw of the device otherwise.
- Attestation that the DSGS provider has remote control (for example, via API access) of each participant device to dispatch the device, is not dispatching the device for a conflicting program, and has no knowledge or awareness that each participant device` is enrolled or participating in a conflicting program.
- Attestation that the DSGS provider has no knowledge or awareness that each participant device was enrolled in a resource adequacy program in the 2024 – 2026 calendar years.
Option 4 Seasonal Capacity Nomination Report
No later than five business days before the first month of program participation in each UDC, each load flexibility VPP aggregator must submit per-device average load reduction commitment nomination for each month in a single file. More information can be found on our Resource Page in the Option 4 Seasonal Capacity Nomination Technical Guide.
Option 2 Dispatch Reports
Option 2 providers must submit to the CEC a monthly report summarizing the total expected energy (MWh) by Resource ID for each day and hour. Dispatch reports are due to the CEC 10 business days after the last day of the month in which dispatches occurred. If no eligible dispatches occured in the previous month, the report should indicate that no dispatches occured in the past month.
Option 3 Performance Reports
Within 15 business days after the end of each month during the program season (May–October), Option 3 providers must submit to the CEC (a) submeter or inverter data in the specified format for the prior two months (if not already submitted) for all sites participating in their aggregation that month and (b) electric utility meter data in 15-minute intervals for sites also enrolled in a supply-side demand response program and participating in DSGS with an export-only resource. For example, for all sites enrolled in May, the submeter data submitted in June must include complete data for all of April and May. For sites that are enrolled in June and were not already enrolled in May, the submeter data submitted in July must include complete data for all of May and June. Monthly performance reports are required for the CEC to accept a claim submission and complete settlement.
Option 4 Performance Reports
Within 10 business days after a program or test event occurs, Option 4 providers must submit participating device load or run-time data to the CEC in the specified format for all devices active in their aggregation.
Backup Generation Reports:
Please see the FAQ question “What are the CARB reporting requirements for combustion resources?” for more information about backup generation reports.
All reports can be submitted by uploading them here.
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The DSGS Program Guidelines also serve as the terms and conditions for this program.
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DSGS providers can voluntarily withdraw from the program at any time by emailing dsgs-support@olivineinc.com. Voluntary withdrawal from the program does not preclude the DSGS provider from reapplying in the future. Withdrawal from the program will remove all of the DSGS provider’s enrolled DSGS participants from the program. DSGS providers that withdraw are still eligible to submit claims for events that occurred during their enrollment period.
DSGS participants can voluntarily withdraw from the program at any time by notifying their DSGS provider or emailing dsgs-support@olivineinc.com if directly enrolled in the program. Voluntary withdrawal from the program does not preclude the participant from reapplying in the future. Participants are still eligible to receive payment for events that occurred during their enrollment period.
Backup Generator Questions
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Participation Option 1 is suspended for the 2026 year due to budget constraints.
Participants enrolled in Option 1 may dispatch combustion resources during Option 1 events called in response to an EEA level 2 or higher if the Governor issues an executive order. Participants may only dispatch at a lower EEA level (Watch or EEA 1) if explicitly authorized by the Governor’s executive order. Participation in the program does not waive any air or operation permit requirements.
Participants utilizing combustion resources must submit reports to California Air Resources Board (CARB) on the use of their backup generation as a precondition to receiving incentive payments.
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Participation Option 1 is suspended for the 2026 season year due to budget constraints.
Within 10 business days after the end of each month in which a DSGS Program event occurred and the backup generator was dispatched, DSGS providers or participants participating in Incentive Option 1 must submit a California Air Resources Board (CARB) Report with the following information regarding backup generation participants used during a DSGS Program event, if any. DSGS providers and participants can submit CARB Reports by uploading them here.
- The address or GPS coordinates where such backup generation occurred
- Information on whether the backup generation is portable or stationary
- The engine size, age, rated horsepower, and federal emissions tier for each generator dispatched under the program
- The type and amount of fuel used by each generator dispatched under the program
- The hours of operation on each day with a program event of each generator dispatched under the program
The program team will share all reports with CARB.
DSGS providers must determine with their participants who is responsible for submitting the reports. Participants enrolled directly with the CEC are responsible for submitting the reports.
The CEC will not approve requests for incentive payments for backup generation until CARB receives the report associated with that backup generation for each month in which the backup generation participated.
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Participation Option 1 is suspended for the 2026 season year due to budget constraints.
Exports are allowed and compensated for customers with interconnection agreements participating in Participation Option 1: Emergency Dispatch and Participation Option 3: Market-Aware Storage Virtual Power Plan Pilot. Participants must comply with their interconnection agreement. Dispatch in violation of an interconnection agreement is not eligible for incentive payments.
Event Questions
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Participation Option 1 is suspended for the 2026 season year due to budget constraints.
Participation Option 1: Emergency Dispatch
Resources enrolled in Incentive Option 1 are dispatched to reduce electric load during Option 1 events called in response to Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) Watch, EEA-1, EEA-2, or EEA-3 notices issued by either their host balancing authority or the California ISO. DSGS Option 1 dispatch periods can occur during the program season from May 1st to October 31st of each year. Dispatch periods are not anticipated to take place outside of the 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. timeframe but may vary depending on grid conditions.
Option 1 events always start at the beginning of a complete hourly interval. If the start time identified in the EEA notice is not hour-aligned, the associated DSGS event start time is rounded to the nearest hour, with times ending in 30 minutes rounded to the next hour. If the end time identified in the EEA notice is not hour-aligned, the associated DSGS event end time is always rounded to the following hour.
Additionally, participants with non-combustion resources will be eligible for Option 1 incentives when dispatching in response to EEAs issued by a neighboring California balancing authority if requested or notified by that balancing authority and authorized to respond by the participant’s host POU and balancing authority. If two or more California balancing authorities issue an EEA during the same time frame, participants shall prioritize providing load reduction to the balancing authority area in which the participant is located.
Participation Option 2: Market-Integrated Demand Response Incremental Capacity Pilot
Incremental demonstrated capacity will be calculated based on resource availability and performance during a defined availability window. A PDR may participate on non-holiday weekdays only, or all days including weekends and holidays for a higher incentive level. To receive payments for incremental capacity demonstrated under Option 2, the PDR must have capacity bid at a price no greater than $600/MWh (or self-scheduled) in the day-ahead market for at least three consecutive hours between 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. For a PDR with a capacity obligation on a monthly resource adequacy (RA) showing, the RA availability and bidding rules take precedence over DSGS.*
Unlike the must-offer obligation under the RA program, DSGS does not require offering any minimum amount (MW). Instead, the DR provider may determine the appropriate amount to offer; this amount may factor into demonstrated capacity if dispatched. If the DR provider does not bid (or self-schedule) during these hours, a value of zero will be utilized for the performance calculation.
* Resource adequacy resources generally have a 24×7 must-offer obligation, unless otherwise specified by the California ISO Tariff.
Participation Option 3: Market-Aware Storage Virtual Power Plant Pilot
Participants in Participation Option 3 may be dispatched 7 days a week between 4:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. from May 1st to October 31st. An event may last from one hour to the maximum resource duration of a VPP. There is a maximum of 60 day-ahead event hours per program season, plus monthly test events as applicable in the absence of suitable full-duration events.
Day-Ahead Events
A day-ahead storage VPP event is triggered within the hours that meet either of the two criteria within the program hours:
- AbsolutePrice Trigger: The hourly LMP must be greater than or equal to $200/MWh. Option 3 VPP events will only be called for consecutive hours. If multiple hours within the program window meet the absolute price trigger but are not consecutive, the hour or hours in between shall also be considered to meet this criterion.
- Day-Ahead Emergency Trigger: If an EEA Watch or above is called for the following day by the host BA, the emergency trigger shall take effect beginning at 4:00 p.m. and lasting until 9:00 p.m.
If no hours within the program window meet either criterion, no day-ahead event shall be called.
For all aggregations, hourly price is defined as the California ISO day-ahead hourly LMP for the default load aggregation point (DLAP) of the aggregations’ host UDC, or the trading hub of the host UDC if a DLAP is not available.
A program event may last from one hour to the maximum discharge duration of a VPP aggregation. If the number of hours meeting the Absolute Price Trigger exceeds the nominated capacity duration, only those consecutive hours with the highest mean hourly price shall be considered event hours. If the highest mean consecutive hourly price applies to more than one set of hours (that is, if there is a tie), the event will be the first (that is, earliest) set of hours meeting these conditions.
Minimum Events
There is a minimum of one full duration event per month required for all participating aggregations. Storage VPP aggregations that have reached the maximum event hours per season must still participate in at least one full duration event in each month. In the absence of a DSGS Program non-test event, a full-duration event must be enabled by the storage VPP aggregator. This requirement supersedes the maximum event hours threshold.
Exceptions
Event hours may be discarded from the performance calculation at the discretion of the storage VPP aggregator if customers representing 10 percent or more of the nameplate power rating of the aggregation lose power on an event day before or during the event.
Day-Of Events
If an EEA Watch or above is issued for the same day by the host BA, the emergency trigger shall take effect at the later of the notice issued time rounded to the nearest hour, the notice start time rounded to the nearest hour, and 4:00 p.m., and last no later than 9:00 p.m. Day-of event triggers shall not change day-ahead event hours. If a day-of Event is called following a partial-duration day-ahead event, the day-of event hours must be consecutive with the day-ahead event hours. Subject to this constraint, only the consecutive hours of the discharge duration with the highest mean LMP shall be considered event hours, with ties in LMP going to the earlier set of hours. Following the issuance of the first (earliest) day-of EEA Watch or above, the issuance of any subsequent day-of EEAs on the same day shall not supersede or change the day-of event hours.
Day-of event hours shall not be included in the demonstrated capacity calculation and the VPPs dispatching during the event will be compensated at a rate of $1 per kWh of net discharge. Day-ahead event hours, including test event hours, are not considered day-of event hours.
Participation Option 4: Emergency Load Flexibility VPP Pilot
Participants in Participation Option 4 may be dispatched 7 days a week between 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. from May 1st to October 31st. An event may last for up to 4 hours. There is a maximum of 60 hours of program events (3 events in any 7-day period) per program season, including up to one CEC initiated test event per program quarter (where the months of May through July constitute the first program quarter and the months of August through October constitute the second program quarter) in the absence of a load flexibility VPP EEA Watch+ event. Participation in events beyond 60 hours is optional but may be used to increase demonstrated capacity. If an event occurs in excess of the 3 events in any 7-day period cap, the event will be excluded from calculation of the Performance-Adjusted Capacity Payment in Chapter 6 Section F.3 of the DSGS Program Guidelines, but providers are eligible for energy payments for that event at a rate of $1/kWh of load reduction during core hours and $0.50/kWh during shoulder hours.
Minimum Events
One event per program quarter is required for participating load flexibility VPPs (aggregations), where the months of May through July constitute the first program quarter and the months of August through October constitute the second program quarter
A load flexibility aggregator must begin initial participation by May 1 to participate in the first program quarter and by August 1 to participate in the second program quarter.
Event Trigger
A load flexibility VPP event shall occur on each day for which the host Balancing Authority (BA) issues an EEA or EEA Watch (“EEA Watch+” or “emergency trigger”), subject to the maximum event limit (above).
Event hour selection
Load flexibility VPP events shall consist of up to two hours of “core” event hours and up to two hours of “shoulder” event hours, in 15-minute increments. In general, the core intervals target the “peak price hours,” defined as the two consecutive hours in the daily availability window with the highest mean hourly California ISO price.
For all aggregations, hourly price refers to the California ISO day-ahead energy market LMP for the default load aggregation point (DLAP) of the host UDC, or the trading hub of the host UDC if a DLAP is not available*. If the highest mean hourly price applies to more than one set of consecutive hours (that is, if there is a tie), the core hours shall begin with the earliest set of consecutive hours with the highest mean hourly price.
The shoulder intervals target the hours immediately preceding and following the core hours. Both core hours and shoulder hours may be shifted or shortened in 15-minute increments to conform to the daily availability window and minimum response time (above). The subsections below detail how core and shoulder hours may be adjusted depending on the notice issued time relative to the start of the peak price hours.
- Advanced-Notice Events: An Advanced-Notice Event is triggered by an EEA Watch+ notice issued at least 1 hour and 20 minutes ahead of the peak price hours start time. In Advanced-Notice Events, both core and shoulder intervals are hour-aligned. The core intervals are the peak price hours and the shoulder intervals are the hours immediately preceding and following the peak price hours, unless outside the availability window.
- Short-Notice Events: A Short-Notice Event is triggered by an EEA Watch+ notice issued more than 20 minutes but less than 1 hour and 20 minutes ahead of the peak price hours start time. Short-Notice Event core intervals are hour-aligned. The shoulder intervals are the 15-minute intervals preceding the peak price hours start time and at least 20 minutes from the EEA Watch+ notice issued time, and four intervals immediately following the event, unless outside the availability window.
- Real-Time Events: A Real-Time Event is triggered by an EEA Watch+ notice issued less than 20 minutes before the peak price hours start time, including notices issued during or after the peak price hours. Only during Real-Time Events may core intervals be not hour-aligned. Real-Time Event core intervals shall take effect beginning the first 15-minute interval at least 20 minutes the EEA Watch+ notice issued time. The core intervals shall last for two hours or until 10:00 p.m., whichever is earlier. The shoulder intervals are the four 15-minute intervals immediately following the event, unless outside the availability window. If no EEA Watch+ is issued by 8:40 p.m., no emergency-triggered event shall be called.
*The UDCs corresponding aggregate pricing node IDs are Pacific Gas and Electric (“DLAP_PGAE-APND”), Southern California Edison (“DLAP_SCE-APND”), San Diego Gas & Electric (“DLAP_SDGE-APND”), and the POUs of Anaheim, Azusa, Banning, Pasadena, Riverside, and Vernon (SP15, “TH_SP15_GEN-APND”).
Event Cancellation:
A load flexibility VPP event shall be cancelled if the host BA issues a cancellation of all applicable EEA Watch+ notices at least 20 minutes before the beginning of the first scheduled shoulder interval. (Real-time events are always initiated within 80 minutes of the highest LMP hours and start with core intervals. These events cannot be cancelled.
For more information on test event requirements for each option, reference “Are there test events?”.
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Participation Option 1 is suspended for the 2026 season year due to budget constraints.
Participants with combustion resources are eligible to receive a Standby Payment in response to a Standby Event. Non-combustion resources are not eligible for a Standby Payment.
Standby Event Notification Process. When an applicable California balancing authority issues an EEA Watch or an EEA 1, the DSGS program team will notify DSGS providers and directly-enrolled participants with combustion resources of a DSGS standby event and to be ready to potentially dispatch if a DSGS dispatch event is issued. DSGS providers are responsible for notifying their participants with combustion resources of any standby events. DSGS providers and direct participants must determine the amount of incremental load reduction that would be available from combustion resources during each hour of the EEA Watch or EEA 1 time frame (standby commitment). Participants must provide a standby commitment to be eligible for a Standby Payment. Participants must provide a standby commitment in response to each DSGS standby event prior to the start of the event hour. Standby commitments are specific to a single DSGS standby event and are not carried over to subsequent DSGS standby events.
DSGS providers and direct participants shall report to the CEC the amount of incremental load reduction committed to be available during the DSGS event time frame within one hour or as quickly as feasible after the balancing authority issues the EEA Watch or EEA , but before the DSGS event hour to receive a standby payment for that hour. In the case of a sudden onset event, providers and direct participants shall report within one hour, recognizing that the event will have already started. The standby event email notification will include instructions on how to provide the standby commitment.
DSGS providers and direct participants shall provide to the CEC any updates to the standby commitments as soon as practicable.
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Participation Option 1 is suspended for the 2026 season year due to budget constraints.
Participation Option 1 Participants: Participants can be reimbursed for incremental increases in customer demand charges that result from participation in the program and are incurred during the billing period in which a DSGS Program event occurred, if any. To receive a reimbursement, submit a claim to the CEC using the Option 1 Direct Participant Claim Package provided on the Resources tab.
Option 1 DSGS Providers: The CEC reimburses each DSGS provider for up to $1 million per year in administrative costs associated with implementing Participation Option 1. The Option 1 DSGS provider must select one of the following administrative cost structures:
- Actual incremental costs incurred in administering the program, such as costs derived from employee timesheets or invoices from third-party contractors, pending specified conditions, and for indirect/overhead costs (not to exceed 10 percent of actual incremental costs or a federally approved indirect rate from a federal agency as evidenced by an approval letter).
Ten percent of incentive payments provided to participants under Participation Option 1, or if an electrical corporation, 5 percent of incentive payments provided to participants under Participation Option 1.
To receive a reimbursement for administrative costs, submit a claim to the CEC using the Participation Option 1 Claim Package template on the Resources Tab.
Non-Provider Utilities: The CEC shall also reimburse for the following actual costs incurred by utilities and federal power marketing administrations in facilitating an aggregator’s administration of the program in the utility’s service territory and a direct participant’s participation in the program.
- Costs incurred to verify customers are eligible to enroll in the program.
- Costs incurred to provide customer data necessary for program enrollment and incentive claims
These costs may be reimbursed directly to the utility or federal power marketing administration, or to the DSGS provider billed for direct costs. Each utility and federal power marketing administration is limited to reimbursement of up to $250,000 each year in actual incremental costs.
To receive a reimbursement for administrative costs, submit a claim to the CEC using the Non-Provider Utility Claim template found on the Resources tab.
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Participation Options 1 & 2: There are notest events.
Participation Option 3:
In the absence of a full duration day-ahead storage VPP event during a participation month, a storage VPP aggregator must define a full-duration test event per aggregation to substantiate its demonstrated capacity value. The VPP aggregator must communicate test event details such as date, start time, and end time to the CEC in their claim submission. The test hours must occur during hours with the highest consecutive hourly price within the program hours and last for the duration of the capacity commitment. VPP aggregators must notify the CEC of planned test events no later than 3:00 p.m. on the day preceding the planned test event. The storage VPP aggregator must provide the CEC with the hours of the planned test event, the UDC service territory, and nominated duration of the storage VPP(s) that will participate in the test event.
To mitigate potential system impacts associated with dispatches of large aggregations, the CEC, in consultation with the California ISO, will work with storage VPP aggregators with large aggregations to explore, develop, and implement technical solutions and may require these aggregators to conduct test events for the PG&E UDC service territory and the Southern California UDC service territories (SCE and SDG&E) on different days.
Test events may coincide with a shorter duration price-triggered storage VPP event. If all storage VPP events called during a month are shorter than the discharge duration of a VPP aggregation, a provider may extend an event with test hours to reach the aggregation’s full discharge duration. In this case, both day-ahead event hours and test hours will be used in the capacity calculation.
Except in August, a storage VPP aggregator may conduct multiple test events in a month per aggregation, but only the most recent test event will be used in the calculation of demonstrated capacity for that month.
In August, in the absence of three consecutive full duration day-ahead events, the storage VPP aggregator must call a full-duration three-day test – that is, conduct a full-duration test event on three consecutive days, subject to other requirements described above. The storage VPP aggregator must notify the CEC of the planned three-day testing no later than 3:00 p.m. on the day preceding the first day of the three-day test. The three-day test cannot be repeated. Performance results of all test events, along with any day-ahead events, will be counted in August’s demonstrated capacity calculation.
Participation Option 4:
In the absence of a load flexibility VPP emergency-triggered event in each of the 3-month program quarters defined in Chapter 6 Section E of the DSGS Guidelines, the VPP must respond to a CEC-initiated test event per quarter to meet the minimum event requirement. The test hours shall be consistent with the event hour selection criteria defined in Chapter 6 Section E of the DSGS Guidelines. The CEC shall make reasonable efforts to align test events with high-need days in coordination with the California ISO and to avoid test events if an emergency-triggered event is likely. However, it is possible that an emergency-triggered event may occur later in a month in which a CEC-initiated test event has already occurred. In this case, the VPP’s performance in both events will be counted in determining the VPP’s performance in that month.
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Participation Option 1 is suspended for the 2026 program year due to budget constraints.
Participation Options 3 & 4: DSGS Providers enrolled in Participation Options 3 and 4 receive event notifications via email and if they choose, text (SMS), OpenADR, and/or Olivine’s Dispatch API Providers and direct participants will be notified shortly after the applicable balancing authority issues an Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) notice.
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Participation Option 1 is suspended for the 2026 program year due to budget constraints.
Participation Option 1: A DSGS event may be modified or canceled in response to subsequent balancing authority Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) notices. DSGS Providers and directly enrolled participants will be notified of any event updates or cancelations. DSGS Providers are responsible for notifying their participants of event updates or cancelations.
Participation Options 2 & 3: DSGS events are not modified or canceled.
Participation Option 4:A load flexibility event shall be cancelled if the host BA issues a cancellation of all applicable EEA Watch+ notices at least 20 minutes before the beginning of the first scheduled shoulder interval. (Real-time events are always initiated within 80 minutes of the highest LMP hours and start with core intervals. These events cannot be cancelled.)
Incentive Payment Questions
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Participation Option 1 is suspended for the 2026 program year due to budget constraints.
Participants enrolled in Participation Option 1 are eligible to receive the following payments:
- Energy Payment: Participants will earn an incentive of $2 for each kilowatt-hour (kWh) of verified incremental load reduction relative to their resource’s typical energy usage during an Option 1 DSGS dispatch event.
- Standby Payment: Participants using combustion resources that provide a standby commitment identifying their available combustion capacity upon notice of a DSGS standby event receive a standby payment of $0.25 per kWh for each hour their resource is not dispatched. Standby commitments must be made prior to the start of the standby event hour. The standby payment will be based on the standby commitment. If the actual average load reduction during the dispatch period is less than the standby commitment, the standby payment is prorated to reflect the actual average load reduction demonstrated by the resource.
- Reimbursement for Increased Customer Demand Charges: Participants can also be reimbursed for incremental increases in customer demand charges that result from participation in the program and are incurred during the billing period in which a DSGS Program event occurred, if any.
The default load reduction compensated by the Energy Payment is calculated as follows. DSGS providers may propose an alternate method of calculating verified incremental load reduction in their application. DSGS providers are responsible for calculating performance and payments for their Option 1 participants.
- Step 1: Calculate the energy baseline (EB) at the service account level. The EB will be calculated on an hourly basis using the average of the preceding similar days.
- The 10 non-excluded weekdays will be selected for weekday events; for weekend and holiday events, the 4 non-excluded weekend and holiday days will be selected.
- A service account must have at least 10 similar days of interval meter data available to have a valid baseline.
- Step 2: Calculate the day-of adjustment value (DOAV). A DOAV shall not be less than 0.60 or greater than 1.40. The DOAV is a ratio of (a) the average load of the first three hours of the four hours prior to the event to (b) the average load of the same hours from the days selected in accordance with Step 1 above. If either (a) or (b) are negative, the DOA is 1.0.
- Step 3: Calculate the adjusted energy baseline (AEB). – When the EB is greater than zero, a service account AEB for a DSGS event is calculated by multiplying the EB by the DOAV. If the EB is less than zero in an hour during the event, the AEB shall be equal to the EB (that is, DOAV treated as 1).
- Step 4: Calculate the incremental load reduction achieved during the event. The incremental load reduction for each hour of the event is the AEB minus the load measured uring that hour. If this value is negative, the incremental load reduction in that hour shall be considered zero.
If the participant has a grid-connected device with export capability under the utility’s interconnection agreement, the participant may choose to count exported energy, up to their export rating, in the incremental load reduction calculation. In that case, the baseline is modified to account for exported energy during non-event days and count exported energy in the incremental load reduction.
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Demand Response (DR) providers enrolled in Option 2 receive performance-based capacity payments based on a PDR’s demonstrated capacity in excess of its resource adequacy capacity commitments, if applicable. For example if a DR provider has a PDR portfolio RA capacity commitment of 10 MW and demonstrates capacity of 12 MW, the incremental demonstrated capacity is 2 MW. DR providers shall allocate the performance-based capacity payments between the DR provider and its PDR participants pursuant to the terms and conditions agreed upon by the DR provider and the participants. Incremental demonstrated capacity is calculated based on resource availability and performance during a defined availability window. The performance-based capacity payment rates under Option 2 vary by month and availability requirement, as shown in the following table.
Capacity Prices by Month and Availability Requirement ($/MW)
Month Every Day Non-Holiday Weekdays May $9,000 $7,200 June $9,300 $7,440 July $16,800 $13,440 August $18,000 $14,400 September $19,200 $15,360 October $10,500 $8,400 Season Total $82,800 $66,240 Reference Chapter 4 Section E of the DSGS Guidelines for more information on incremental demonstrated capacity calculations.
Bonus Payment: DR providers will be awarded an additional 30 percent bonus applied to capacity incentives for Program Year 2026. Additional bonuses in future years may be provided at CEC’s discretion.
See “How much funding is available for Option 2 in 2026?” for additional information about funding availability.
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Storage Virtual power plant (VPP) aggregators receive incentive payments based on demonstrated capacity of a VPP during market-aware VPP events. Storage VPP aggregators shall allocate incentive payments between the storage VPP aggregator and its participants pursuant to the terms and conditions agreed to between the VPP aggregator and participant. Different levels of incentives are available for VPPs of varying durations (i.e. 2, 3, or 4 hours). Storage VPP Aggregators are eligible for a payment for demonstrated capacity of a VPP at the varying monthly rates in the following table based on the capacity (kW) and duration (hours) demonstrated by the storage VPP aggregator in each month.
Storage VPP Capacity Prices ($/kW-month)
Month 4-Hour 3-Hour 2-Hour May $9.00 $8.10 $6.75 June $9.30 $8.37 $6.98 July $16.80 $15.12 $12.60 August $18.00 $16.20 $13.50 September $19.20 $17.28 $14.40 October $10.50 $9.45 $7.88 Annual Total ($/kW) $82.80 $74.52 $62.10 Reference Chapter 5 Section E of the DSGS Guidelines for more information on how battery performance is measured.
Bonus Payment: VPP aggregators will be awarded an additional 30 percent bonus applied to capacity incentives for Program Year 2026. Additional bonuses in future years may be provided at CEC discretion.
See “How much funding is available for Option 3 in 2026?” for additional information about funding availability.
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Load flexibility virtual power plant (VPP) aggregators receive performance-based monthly capacity payments based on the performance of each aggregation relative to its monthly committed capacity nomination. Load flexibility VPP aggregators shall allocate the performance payments between the aggregator and its participants pursuant to the terms and conditions agreed to between the aggregator and participant. Load flexibility VPP aggregators are eligible for a payment for demonstrated capacity of a VPP at the varying monthly rates in the following tables based on the capacity (kW) demonstrated by the load flexibility VPP aggregator in each month.
Load Flexibility VPP Capacity Prices ($/kW-month)
Month $kW-month May $5.86 June $7.10 July $9.79 August $13.42 September $15.41 October $9.00 Season Total ($/kW) $60.58 The final monthly performance payment of the season shall be adjusted relative to the total compensation associated with the committed capacity nomination based on VPP performance during program events.
Reference Chapter 6, Section F of the program guidelines for more information on how load flexibility VPP resource performance is measured.
See “How much funding is available for Option 4 in 2026?” for additional information about funding availability.
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Participation Option 1 is suspended for the 2026 year due to budget constraints.
DSGS Providers, customers directly enrolled with the CEC, and utilities and federal power marketing administrations (FPMA) must submit claims for eligible administrative costs and incentives after the program season ends. The CEC reviews claims on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Participation Option 3 and Participation Option 4 claims must be submitted by the last business day of November of the same calendar year in which the program season occurred.
- All other claims must be submitted by the last business day of February of the following calendar year.
- The date and time of the electronically submitted completed claim will establish the order for the queue for review of claims.
- The CEC shall notify claimants if claim packages are incomplete. The claimant shall supplement the incomplete claim within 10 business days. Failure to respond within the 10 business days will result in the cancellation of the claim.
- The cancellation of a claim does not preclude a claimant from resubmitting a claim, but the date and time of the electronic resubmission will determine the order of review of the claim. The claimant must explain the changes in the re-submitted claim and how the issues for the initial rejection are addressed.
Only Option 1 DSGS Providers, as well as utilities and FPMAs facilitating an aggregator’s administration of the program in the utility’s service territory or a direct participant’s participation in the program, may submit claims for administrative costs. All claim package templates can be found on our Resources page.
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