Virtual Peaker, a cloud-based SaaS company and developer of distributed energy resource platforms, is deploying its first demand response pilot program in Canada with FortisBC, an electricity and natural gas distribution utility based in British Columbia.
Virtual Peaker’s distributed energy resource management system (DERMS) will help FortisBC manage their distributed energy resources including rooftop solar, residential battery storage and EVs. As renewable sources become more common, utilities can use demand response software to customize and scale their operations.
The FortisBC Peak Saver Pilot Program leverages Virtual Peaker’s software platform to control residential smart devices that help reduce energy use, save money, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and support the province’s climate action goals.
Launched in late February, the pilot program remotely adjusts settings on electric space-heating and -cooling equipment as well as electric water heaters, EV chargers, and pool pumps during previously designated short periods of high demand when electricity is most expensive.
The demand response pilot is open to qualified residential customers who can use the “Bring Your Own Device” (customer-provided) or direct-install (utility-provided) approach and live in select areas of Kelowna, British Columbia. FortisBC is using technology from Wi-Fi-connected device manufacturers including ecobee, Honeywell Home, ChargePoint and Armada Power.
Virtual Peaker is a cloud-based distributed energy company that empowers modern utilities to modernize the power grid and meet global decarbonization goals. The SaaS company’s platform suites unify all aspects of DER management, from DERMS to customer engagement and load forecasting. Virtual Peaker is a remote-first company that currently employs about 40 people in various locations across the United States. Thanks to a recent $16.6 million venture funding round led by global technology and sustainability investors, Virtual Peaker is expanding its support for forward-thinking utilities that can lead the transformation to a more sustainable electric grid.
FortisBC is a Canadian-owned, British Columbia-based company with more than 2,500 employees who proudly deliver renewable energy, natural gas, and electricity to 1.2 million customers in 135 BC communities and 57 Indigenous communities across 150 traditional territories.
