The Illinois Commerce Commission has approved ComEd's proposal to launch a Scheduled Dispatch Virtual Power Plant (SDVPP) program, expected to become available to customers in 2027, according to a press release from the company.

The program, shaped by Illinois' Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act, will allow customers with battery storage systems to send stored energy back to the grid during pre-defined periods of high electricity demand. Participating customers will receive incentives in return.

A virtual power plant aggregates customer-owned distributed energy resources, such as battery storage and solar panels, coordinating them to function as a single power source during periods of peak grid demand.

ComEd, a unit of Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ: EXC), serves more than 4 million customers across northern Illinois. The company said it plans to expand the SDVPP program by 2029 to include additional distributed energy resources, such as electric vehicles.

"This Scheduled Dispatch Virtual Power Plant program, as envisioned by CRGA, is an important step in bolstering the potential of customer-sited energy resources to make the grid more resilient during periods of peak demand," said Andrew Plenge, vice president of strategy and energy policy at ComEd.

ComEd said it has previously connected approximately 1.8 gigawatts of distributed energy resources to the grid and awarded more than $2.5 billion in incentives for energy-efficiency improvements.