March 6
Austin Energy’s DR Program Delivers Record Results
This week's top smart energy news, curated by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC).
Member News
Austin Energy marked a record year in its 2025 demand response program, reinforcing the utility’s commitment to grid reliability and sustainability. The program’s success was driven by a targeted rollout plan last summer, ensuring reliable service during peak demand. The utility is working diligently to expand demand response programs, targeting 78 MW by 2027 and 270 MW by 2035.
The surge in electricity demand from data centers has the potential to significantly reshape regional power grids before the end of the decade, accounting for 9-17% of total U.S. electricity consumption by 2030 – more than doubling their current share, says EPRI. Currently, data centers consume 4-5% of U.S. electricity generation. The new estimates are 60% higher than EPRI’s 2024 estimates.
Electricity prices surged nearly twice as fast as inflation in 2025, making energy costs a political issue for voters. At the same time, power demand from AI and data centers is expanding at an unprecedented pace. Industry projections suggest these facilities could account for nearly 9% of U.S. electricity usage by 2030 – roughly double their current share.
As electricity costs continue to rise, household budgets tighten and AI data centers increasingly dot the landscape, consumers and electricity providers alike are facing a number of challenges as we enter a new year. To identify strategies providers can utilize to better meet consumer needs, while also tackling key operational objectives, the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative analyzed more than 5,000 survey responses from 2025 for the “2026 State of the Consumer” report.
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Industry News
Lauren Phillips’ balcony just became a power plant. A very small, carbon-free one. A few weeks ago, the attorney set up what may be the first plug-and-play solar panel in the Bronx. The 220-watt installation, which is secured to the balcony railing with zip ties, has been a boon for the co-op apartment owner and mother of two.
U.S. battery energy storage deployments jumped 29% in 2025 to exceed 28 GW/57 GWh, driven by 16 GW/50 GWh of utility-scale installations, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence said in a report. In the Q1 2026 outlook, prepared for SEIA, Benchmark said behind-the-meter installations, including residential, commercial and industrial, constitute 12 GW/8 GWh of the total.
Portland General Electric (PGE) recently finalized agreements for more than 1,000 MW of new clean energy and battery storage. Specifically, PGE and third-party developers will begin construction planning for new clean energy and battery storage projects totaling 1,015 MW. These resources are expected to begin serving customers in 2027 and 2028.
If you’re a California homeowner and you’ve been feeling chilly this winter, there are plenty of reasons to go get a heat pump. An all-electric, energy-efficient alternative to gas-burning furnaces, heat pumps are widely seen as the climate-friendly home heater of choice. They can do double duty as both home heaters and AC units and are pretty good at maintaining a constant temperature inside a home without the blast-then-cool-off cycle typical of a furnace.
