ecobee’s Grid Resiliency Service Unlocks 2.8 GW of Capacity in the U.S. and Canada

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Key Terms

demand response programs technical

Demand response programs pay electricity users or adjust their consumption automatically to reduce power use during peak periods, helping balance supply and demand and avoid blackouts. For investors, these programs can lower operating costs for large users, create revenue streams for technology and service providers, and change utilities’ capital needs—think of it like traffic control that eases rush-hour congestion to keep the system running smoothly.

virtual power plants technical

A virtual power plant is a coordinated network of many small energy sources — like rooftop solar panels, batteries, and flexible demand — that are pooled and controlled to act like a single power plant. Investors care because it creates new revenue and cost-saving opportunities by selling power and grid services, improving reliability and smoothing demand; think of it as combining many backyard generators to behave like a utility-scale asset that can be monetized and scaled.

ERCOT technical

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is the organization that operates and balances the bulk electric grid for most of Texas, acting like an air-traffic controller that matches electricity supply and demand across the state and runs the wholesale power market. Investors care because ERCOT’s decisions, grid reliability, and market prices directly affect the revenues, costs, and risk exposure of utilities, energy producers, large consumers, and companies whose operations depend on stable, affordable power.

SPP technical

spp is an abbreviation used in biology and medical writing to mean “multiple species” within a single genus (it follows a genus name to indicate more than one species). For investors, spp signals whether a treatment, diagnostic, or risk applies broadly across several related organisms or only to a single species; think of it like saying a paint works on several kinds of surfaces rather than just one, which affects potential market size, regulatory testing, and commercial risk.

02/10/2026 - 02:11 PM

Report Shows 108 MW Delivered in Summer 2025

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- An independent evaluation from Demand Side Analytics (DSA) reports that ecobee’s new Grid Resiliency service delivered 108 megawatts (MW) of critical capacity during the Summer 2025 peak demand season. This demonstrates the potential to unlock 2.8 gigawatts (GW) of capacity across the U.S. and Canada as grids face increasing strain from extreme weather and rising electricity demand.

Grid Resiliency (GR) is now part of ecobee’s thermostat optimization platform eco+. GR allows grid operators to intelligently reduce energy demand for all eco+ enrolled homes, augmenting traditional demand response programs. By simplifying enrollment and providing a seamless customer experience, ecobee delivers a mass market solution that meaningfully increases dispatchable capacity.

“When the grid is under stress, speed and scale matter,” said Tamara Dzubay, Senior Director, ecobee Energy. “What is encouraging about the DSA report is that it shows how everyday homes, working quietly in the background, can have a material positive impact on improving the resiliency of our energy grid. Grid Resiliency helps us take another important step towards our mission of simplifying everyday life while creating a more sustainable world.”

During a stress event, GR makes minor temperature adjustments that can support reliability when operated at scale. These small, temporary adjustments are designed to reduce energy usage when needed most, while maintaining comfort. Importantly, homeowners remain in full control and can opt-out of a GR event at any time, but results have demonstrated consistently high participation rates.

“It was remarkable to find that the per-device load impact and participation rates of ecobee’s Grid Resiliency program were similar to traditional utility demand response programs,” said Jesse Smith, partner, Demand Side Analytics. “The Grid Resiliency service shows tremendous potential to harness the demand reduction potential of small offsets across millions of homes.”

Key Results from Grid Reliability Events

The report examined 11 GR events across CAISO, ERCOT, and SPP territories, with more than 143,000 ecobee devices enrolled.

Key findings include:

Peak reductions exceeding 1 kW per device, with average reduction of 0.65 kW
73% average homeowner participation rate across all event hours
108 MW of total peak load reduction capability across markets

The results validate that GR is an effective and reliable critical capacity resource, with low opt-out rates and high customer satisfaction. It further reinforces that homeowners are motivated to support their communities during critical energy events, with most homes staying engaged, even through multi-hour events.

“Deploying virtual power plants is one of the fastest ways to meet near-term reliability and affordability challenges in the U.S. power system,” said Lauren Shwisberg, Principal in the Electricity program at RMI, a leading clean tech organization. “Anything that simplifies customer enrollment is a powerful ‘unlock’ to make sure more of the devices already in our homes are used to support the grid.”

U.S. and Canada Capacity Potential: 2.8 GW

The report estimates that Grid Resiliency unlocks ~2,585 MW of incremental capacity in the U.S., and ~215 MW in Canada, for a total potential of 2.8 GW.

ecobee’s Grid Resiliency service demonstrates that household energy reductions, when aggregated and automated, are a powerful tool for utilities seeking to manage peak load challenges, without compromising homeowner comfort.

For full results, visit the report here. To learn more about Grid Resiliency, visit ecobee.com.

About ecobee

ecobee Inc. was founded in 2007 with a mission to simplify everyday life while creating a more sustainable world. Since launching the world’s first smart thermostat in 2009, ecobee has helped customers across North America save over 41.2 TWh of energy, which is the equivalent of taking all the homes in New York City off the grid for a year. Today, ecobee continues to innovate with smart home solutions that solve everyday problems with comfort, protection, and conservation in mind. In 2021, ecobee joined Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC), a leading global designer and manufacturer of energy technology solutions, and other power products. Generac and ecobee share a vision to deliver a cleaner and more sustainable energy future for customers and communities. The Generac and ecobee home is more comfortable, secure, resilient, and efficient. For more information, visit ecobee.com.