It's Already Time to Start Thinking About Summer

February 21, 2023

With many parts of the United States still experiencing record low temperatures and snowfall, it may be hard to start thinking about preparing for summer. But for Leap partners and other businesses that manage and operate battery storage, smart thermostats, EV chargers and other distributed energy resources (DERs), deadlines to enroll in revenue-generating grid services programs for summer 2023 are coming up quickly.

Summer is typically a highly lucrative time for participating DERs in demand response and other grid services programs. Electrical grids can experience serious strain when temperatures are high, leading to higher demand for flexible load, higher energy prices in the wholesale markets and higher revenue opportunities for Leap partners.

At Leap, we’re especially excited about the 2023 summer season. Here’s why:

• Summer offers extended high-revenue opportunities for partners. Last summer, hot temperatures began early and continued into the fall, and every indication is that this trend will continue in 2023. In Texas, temperatures neared 100° F for several days in mid-May, sending real-time energy prices above $5,000/MW-hour. In California, the September heat wave created several days of emergency grid conditions, where Leap’s partners were able to generate more than $1 million in revenue through the energy markets over just a nine-day period.

• Summer offers additional opportunities to stabilize and decarbonize the grid. Leap and our partners are leveraging demand flexibility solutions to reduce the carbon intensity of the grid and enable the integration of more renewable energy sources. Enrolling DERs in demand response and other grid services programs is a great way to accelerate decarbonization. Scaling up the availability of storage, smart building resources and other flexible loads enables grid operators to reduce dependence on dirty gas peaker plants while ensuring adequate energy supply during peak times.

• Summer creates unique customer growth and engagement opportunities. Our partners’ customers also care about climate action. Summer is a great time to approach customers with an offer to enroll in grid services, connected to a message of helping lower emissions and stabilize their community’s electric grid. Leap can help craft recruitment strategies and grid services offerings with our expert growth services. And, new platform capabilities like Leap Connect help Leap partners streamline and simplify the process for their customers to enroll in grid services.

• This summer is a perfect time to meet the urgency of the moment. Summers are getting hotter while emission reduction goals are becoming more pressing, creating fraught conditions for anyone concerned with climate change. But there’s hope – through rapidly expanding incentives for installing DERs at the federal, state and local levels. These new DERs will be predominantly cloud-connected, remotely controlled and fast-responding flexible loads, making them especially well-suited for grid services programs. For technology providers that are just beginning to build out their grid services offerings, this summer presents a great opportunity to start building the foundational and operational expertise to be well-positioned to capitalize on the growth ahead.

Leap is here to help current and future partners get ready for summer. Download our Summer 2023 Readiness Checklist or contact us to learn more.