What New Jersey Is Proposing
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities opened a straw proposal for a statewide virtual power plant framework in Docket QO26030099. A VPP coordinates distributed energy resources—such as batteries, smart thermostats, managed electric-vehicle charging, and commercial or industrial demand response—so they can reduce or shift load as a portfolio.
The filing outlines two phases. An interim program would run from 2027 through 2029 and launch no later than July 1, 2027. A longer-term, open-access framework would follow in 2029 and could allow qualified aggregators to participate more directly. Each electric distribution company would be expected to file its proposed program by December 31, 2026.
This is regulatory intent, not a final program. NJBPU is gathering public input, with a July 30 public meeting and comments due August 17, 2026. The Board can change the targets, deadlines, compensation, eligibility, and performance rules before approval.
How The 589 MW Figure Is Calculated
NJBPU proposes that each utility plan for demand reduction equal to no less than 3% of peak demand. The filing provides both the peak-demand base and the corresponding 3% value for each utility. Adding those four utility values produces 589.1 MW. That statewide total is a KilowattLogic calculation from the proposal table, not a separate Board-approved target.
| Electric Utility | Peak Demand In Filing | 3% Planning Level |
|---|---|---|
| PSE&G | 10,229.5 MW | 306.9 MW |
| JCP&L | 6,273.4 MW | 188.2 MW |
| Atlantic City Electric | 2,709.1 MW | 81.3 MW |
| Rockland Electric | 422.9 MW | 12.7 MW |
| Calculated total | — | 589.1 MW |
The proposal also estimates that reaching the 3% level could avoid approximately $60 million in annual capacity payments. NJBPU calls that estimate preliminary, and the value depends on assumptions that remain under review. It should not be treated as a guaranteed customer credit, supplier discount, or utility-bill reduction.
What Commercial Buyers Should Watch
Commercial and industrial demand response is expressly within the technology-neutral proposal. The useful near-term task is therefore readiness, not revenue forecasting. Facility teams can inventory controllable HVAC, refrigeration, process, charging, and battery loads; document how quickly each can respond; and identify operational limits before utilities publish enrollment designs.
- Compensation: Watch whether utilities pay for availability, dispatch performance, capacity value, avoided distribution investment, or a combination.
- Measurement: Baseline and telemetry rules will determine whether a claimed load reduction becomes a compensable one.
- Stacking: The long-term phase contemplates PJM wholesale participation, but final rules must define how retail incentives interact with capacity or ancillary-service revenue.
- Contract boundaries: Procurement teams should confirm who owns demand-response and distributed-resource value under supplier, battery, solar, EV-charging, and aggregator agreements.
Where This Fits In The VPP And PJM Cluster
New Jersey's filing is a state program-design signal. Compare it with New York's VPP legislation and utility-storage dispute and ERCOT's battery VPP operating model, then use the PJM capacity topic to follow the wholesale cost signal the proposal is trying to address.
Sources: New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, Virtual Power Plant Straw Proposal and July 27, 2026 public notice, Docket QO26030099. Retrieved July 29, 2026. The 589.1 MW total is KilowattLogic's arithmetic sum of the proposal's utility-level 3% values.