# Frontier Forum: Why utilities should go big on VPPs

- Show: [Catalyst](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst)
- Published: 2024-12-02
- Length: 27m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2024-12-02-frontier-forum-why-utilities-should-go-big-on-vpps

## Summary

Kerri Carnes, Director of Customer-to-Grid Solutions at Arizona Public Service (APS), and Seth Frader-Thompson, Co-founder and President of EnergyHub, discuss the evolution of APS’s 190-megawatt Virtual Power Plant (VPP). They explain how the utility moved from skepticism to treating distributed energy resources (DERs) like smart thermostats, batteries, and EVs as reliable, dispatchable assets to manage a 40% projected peak demand growth. The conversation highlights the importance of building trust through scale, managing diverse resource mixes, and leveraging AI for intelligent dispatch to ensure both grid reliability and customer satisfaction.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2024-12-02-frontier-forum-why-utilities-should-go-big-on-vpps#t=0) Introduction: APS and EnergyHub's VPP Journey
- [2:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2024-12-02-frontier-forum-why-utilities-should-go-big-on-vpps#t=130) Building Trust in VPPs: From 20MW to 190MW
- [4:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2024-12-02-frontier-forum-why-utilities-should-go-big-on-vpps#t=277) Proving Reliability During Extreme Heat
- [7:35](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2024-12-02-frontier-forum-why-utilities-should-go-big-on-vpps#t=455) Resource Mix: Thermostats, Batteries, and EVs
- [12:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2024-12-02-frontier-forum-why-utilities-should-go-big-on-vpps#t=726) Managing Customer Impact and Satisfaction
- [15:58](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2024-12-02-frontier-forum-why-utilities-should-go-big-on-vpps#t=958) Addressing Load Growth and Data Center Demand
- [18:49](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2024-12-02-frontier-forum-why-utilities-should-go-big-on-vpps#t=1129) The Role of AI and Cultural Flexibility in VPPs
- [25:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2024-12-02-frontier-forum-why-utilities-should-go-big-on-vpps#t=1501) Advice for Skeptical Utilities and Regulators

## Topics

- [Connected products & IoT](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/connected-products-and-iot)
- [Energy & climate tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/energy-and-climate-tech)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Arizona Public Service (company)
- EnergyHub (company)
- EnergyHub Edge DERs Platform (product)
- smart thermostats (product)
- batteries (product)
- EV chargers (product)
- EVs (product)
- heat pumps (product)
- commercial and industrial demand response (product)
- behavioral demand response (product)
- residential battery storage (product)
- water heaters (product)
- pool pumps (product)
- Duke (company)
- National Grid (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Managing Energy At The Edge: Navigating The Modern Grid With Itron](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/over-the-air/2024-09-05-managing-energy-at-the-edge-navigating-the-modern-grid-with-itron) (Over the Air)
- [Solving a Renewables Problem with Electric Vehicles](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2021-05-28-solving-a-renewables-problem-with-electric-vehicles) (EE Times Current)
- [Aligning Passion With Purpose: A Journey to Electrification and Sustainability](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2025-06-17-aligning-passion-with-purpose-a-journey-to-electrification-and-sustainability) (Moore's Lobby)
- [Smart Electrical Panels: Avoiding $25K Upgrades to Enable Home Electrification with Arch Rao](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-10-16-smart-electrical-panels-avoiding-25k-upgrades-to-enable-home-electrification-wit) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [213: Electricity Doesn't Act Like an Apple](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2017-08-31-213-electricity-doesnt-act-like-an-apple) (Embedded.fm)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2024-12-02-frontier-forum-why-utilities-should-go-big-on-vpps. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Catalyst.