US VPPs: WeaveGrid partners with SolarEdge, El Paso Electric launches pilot storage program with Base customers

Two distributed storage announcements this week in the US continue to prove out utility alignment around residential batteries as dispatchable grid assets, as Enphase’s Marco Krapels discussed with ESS News in Las Vegas earlier in the year.

In terms of providing the technical backbone for a unified virtual power plant (VPP) stack across multiple forms of storage, WeaveGrid and SolarEdge Technologies have partnered to integrate SolarEdge residential batteries into WeaveGrid’s Distribution-Integrated System Capacity Orchestration (DISCO) platform. The win here is that this extends a WeaveGrid system originally focused on electric vehicle (EV) load management into a broader energy coordination with behind-the-meter storage. All together, home owners with SolarEdge storage can better access VPP offers and programs from utilities.

Apoorv Bhargava, co-founder and CEO of WeaveGrid, said the partnership enables utilities to “coordinate EVs and residential batteries together so they can manage both local distribution needs and system-wide grid needs from a single platform.”

Tamara Sinensky, senior manager of grid services product at SolarEdge, said the collaboration will “expand access to utility programs for SolarEdge battery customers,” including VPP and other grid services programs where available.

SolarEdge said more than 500 MWh of its residential storage systems are already participating in grid services programs. The integration is designed to give utilities direct visibility into and control over aggregated residential batteries alongside EV charging loads.

In late 2025, LG Technology Ventures, the venture capital arm of LG Group, announced it invested in WeaveGrid.

El Paso Electric, Base Power launch 10 MW pilot

In Texas, El Paso Electric (EPE) and Base Power have launched a Residential Distributed Energy Storage Pilot Program (DESPP) targeting up to 10 MW of aggregated residential battery capacity ahead of the 2026 summer peak.

Under the program, Base Power will install networked home battery systems across qualifying customers in El Paso Electric’s Texas service territory. EPE will manage dispatch, scheduling and performance monitoring of the fleet.

Kelly Tomblin, CEO of EPE, said distributed storage is “an increasingly important tool for utilities navigating load growth, extreme weather and infrastructure constraints,” adding that the pilot provides flexible capacity under utility control.

Zach Dell, CEO of Base Power, said aggregating residential batteries into a utility-managed resource can “strengthen grid reliability, manage peak demand and help defer infrastructure investments,” while maintaining outage backup for participating homeowners.

Homeowners can see if they qualify at www.basepowercompany.com/EPElectric, with a launch offer of “up to” $500 to first 500 installed homeowners.