Grid Resiliency
Unlock latent capacity during critical grid events and grow your existing demand response programs.
Close the participation gap. Ease peak strain.
Traditional demand response captures the 20% who actively opt in, but 80% stay on the sidelines. Grid Resiliency closes that gap by enabling simplified, vendor‑led enrolment of eligible devices during peak times—delivering automated support right when the grid needs it.
- Powered by ecobee Smart Thermostats and eco+.
- Intelligent automated demand response stabilizes the grid.
- Helps customers save energy and lower their energy bills.
Trends shaping the energy landscape:
Weather-related outages are rising.
Peak demand expected to rise 24% in the next 10 years.
— Climate Central
Summer capacity shortfalls are growing.
Half of the U.S. is at high risk of summer shortages due to extreme heat.
— North American Reliability Council
More capacity is needed.
To meet peak demand through 2030, the U.S. needs an extra 200 GW.
— Department of Energy (DOE)
Scaling virtual power plants through vendor-led enrollment.
Virtual power plants (VPPs) pool distributed assets like thermostats and EVs into a single coordinated resource, but traditional enrolment models are a barrier to growth. Simplified vendor-led enrolment through Grid Resiliency strengthens your demand-side asset base, providing automated scale for growing VPP needs.
The Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) confirms this approach, identifying accelerated enrolment as a key to scaling VPPs. RMI conditions to scale VPPs include:
- Accelerating VPP enrolment alongside EVs, batteries, and smart thermostats.
- Streamlining enrolment for mass participation.
- Prioritizing program design for reliable retention.
- Timely grid and emission signals for VPPs.
“Grid decision-makers can address these barriers by simplifying VPP enrollment, [and] developing open-ended VPP programs with opt-out provision[s].”
— RMI, Power Shift (2024)
Unlock mass participation with ecobee.
By prioritizing frictionless onboarding, we have refined our deployment into a streamlined, four-stage process designed to turn available ecobee thermostats into ready-to-act grid assets.
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1. Align
Work with partners to align on parameters and triggers.![]()
2. Deploy
Launch the program to non-DR customers in utility territory.![]()
3. Onboard
Welcome customers with email and in-app announcements.![]()
4. Execute
Adjust setpoints for critical events, customers get in-app alerts.
Simplify customer enrolment.
Grid Resiliency grew from ecobee customer insights showing customers feel motivated to help their communities during critical grid events—especially when participation is simple, automatic, and doesn’t require them to be home.
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1. Frictionless onboarding
Simplified vendor-led enrolment of eligible eco+ devices and transparent communication drive high participation.![]()
2. Pre-event experience
Users receive alerts on their thermostats and in the app notifying them of an upcoming grid stabilization event.![]()
3. Grid experience
When the grid is stressed, the ecobee thermostats automatically adjusts the temperature to reduce HVAC load.![]()
4. Post-event communication
Email thanks customers for making an impact and promotes utility demand response programs.
Summer 2025 grid impact.
ecobee strengthened its critical infrastructure leadership by deploying Grid Resiliency across the CAISO, ERCOT, and SPP ISO territories—managing diverse markets and operating conditions while keeping the grid stable.
11 events
108 MW of load shifted
145,000 customers
73% average participation
Summer 2025 Grid Resiliency Report
In summer 2025, Demand Side Analytics conducted an independent analysis for ecobee. The results highlight our platform’s proven ability to unlock additional capacity and stabilize the grid during peak events.
Boosted megawatts in an energy critical event.
During the 2025 season, our service delivered over 108 MW in aggregate demand reduction. In a single ERCOT event alone, ecobee mobilized 78.1 MW of capacity, providing a massive, reliable boost to the system exactly when the grid reached its limit.
Deepen impacts during critical grid events
Transparent notifications turn passive users into active partners. With seasonal participation averaging 72.7%, our alerts do more than inform—they drive consistent, sustained load reduction throughout the most critical hours of an event.
Automated adjustments to thousand of ecobee thermostats
In 2025, we managed over 143,000 devices. By intelligently shifting temperature setpoints across this vast network, we achieved peak reductions exceeding 1 kW per device and an average reduction of 0.65 kW per device, proving that residential scale is now a reality.
Frictionless enrolment
We’ve removed the traditional barriers to scale while ensuring users’ control. With simplified vendor led enrollment eligible devices, we tap into a vast, ready-to-act network. No manual sign-ups or complex onboarding are required—just immediate, mass-market capacity and a seamless out-opt experience via the ecobee app.
Fast scalable response to changing grid
With a projected 2.8 GW of North American capacity, our service is built for speed. As a load-following resource, it actually performs best during extreme weather, providing a stabilizer against the volatility of a changing grid.
“The Grid Resiliency program demonstrates what's possible when you move beyond traditional demand response approaches. This is about tapping into the full potential of the devices already in peoples’ homes, giving utilities a reliable safety valve and customers a simple way to help their communities during critical moments.”
— Hannah Bascom, chief commercial officer, Uplight
Case studies.
Case study: Evergy
As part of our Summer 2025 programs, ecobee partnered with Evergy and Uplight to launch a Grid Resiliency pilot program in Kansas and Missouri, adding 15,000 devices to their flexible grid capacity. The partners ran a test event in July to experience the program in action.
Key outcomes:
- Real impact: peak load reduced by 23 MW across Evergy’s territories.
- Highly scalable: 31% increase in controllable capacity after three months.
- Customer approved: ~90% participation with fewer than 10 customer calls (0.06667% incident rate).
“[O]ur continued collaboration with Uplight and ecobee […] lets us respond faster and more flexibly during times of elevated grid conditions. It’s a low‑effort, high‑impact approach that keeps customers in control while supporting reliability across Missouri and Kansas.”
— Geoff Pratt, residential demand response program manager, Evergy
Case study: ERCOT
As part of our Summer 2025 programs, ecobee partnered with Leap to support ERCOT Emergency Response Service (ERS), enrolling 40,000 eligible devices during grid emergency conditions.
Key outcomes:
- Real impact: Available capacity increased 48× after launch.
- Highly scalable: median 99% of nominated capacity delivered across all Summer 2025 ERS events.
- Customer approved: ~73% average participation across events, with low opt‑out in emergencies.