Sunrun expands California virtual power plant to 425 MW capacity

Sunrun (NASDAQ: RUN) announced that its California distributed power plant will operate with up to 425 megawatts of peak dispatchable capacity this summer, according to a company press release. The network now includes more than 80,000 enrolled households representing over 110,000 home batteries, up from 16,000 customers when the program launched in 2024.

For the first time, the distributed power plant will dispatch energy through two state programs: the California Energy Commission's Demand Side Grid Support program and the California Public Utilities Commission's Emergency Load Reduction Program, the latter operating under bilateral contracts with Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Southern California Edison.

Sunrun said the system is available to support the grid daily from 4 to 9 p.m. through summer and fall months. The company conducted several dispatches in May and June using portions of its battery network across Northern and Southern California.

During a dispatch event on July 29, 2025, Sunrun's home batteries supplied an average of more than 360 megawatts over two hours. The company said it was the largest aggregator participating in that event.

Sunrun claims that at 425 megawatts, the California distributed power plant would rank among the top 10 utility-scale batteries in the state if counted as a single front-of-the-meter project. The company said the distributed model uses existing home infrastructure, avoiding the need for new land, transmission lines, or interconnection processes.

"As electricity demand continues to grow, Sunrun's power plants represent one of the fastest, most cost-effective tools available to grid operators," said CEO Mary Powell.

Participating customers receive compensation for enrolling in the program. Sunrun coordinates all dispatch operations and said customers are enrolled in only one of the two state programs at a time.

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