Utilities Achieve Record Peak Energy AI-Powered Demand Reduction with Oracle

Expanded year-round event support lets utilities use the programs before, during and after winter storms.

Rhea-AI Summary

Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) reported that utilities using its Opower programs delivered 1 gigawatt of peak demand reduction year to date in 2026. The programs supported 73 winter and summer events, compared with 49 total events in 2025. They engaged 4.3 million customers, up 30% from 3.3 million in 2025, with average peak savings of 16,592 kilowatts per event.

The programs encourage households to reduce or shift electricity use during peak periods through behavioral messages and, in rebate programs, monetary incentives. Participation includes customers without connected devices. Oracle also added the ability to target different customer groups with different messages or program variations.

Key Figures

Demand reduction: 1 gigawatt (GW) Peak demand events: 73 events Average peak savings: 16,592 kilowatts (kW) per event +4 more

Demand reduction

1 gigawatt (GW)

Oracle programs' 2026 delivery

Peak demand events

73 events

2026 winter and summer; compared with 49 in 2025

Average peak savings

16,592 kilowatts (kW) per event

Utilities' 2026 results

Customers engaged

4.3 million

2026; compared with 3.3 million in 2025

Peak load reduction

Up to 16.6 MW per event

Puget Sound Energy; three successive seasons of deployment

Bill credit

$0.50/kWh

Puget Sound Energy Flex Events program

Peak demand reached

Nearly 19 megawatts

CPS Energy events during August

Key Terms

behavioral demand response, peak time rebates, virtual power plant, distributed energy resource

4 terms

behavioral demand response technical

"behavioral demand response (BDR) and peak time rebates (PTR) programs"

Behavioral demand response is when energy users—households, businesses or devices—change how or when they use electricity because of price signals, notifications or incentives from a utility or grid operator. For investors, it matters because these voluntary shifts can lower peak demand like drivers avoiding rush hour, reducing the need for costly power plants or grid upgrades, affecting utility revenues, the value of storage and renewable projects, and the economics of energy markets.

peak time rebates financial

"behavioral demand response (BDR) and peak time rebates (PTR) programs"

Payments or bill credits paid to electricity customers for reducing or shifting their energy use during designated high-demand periods. A program operator (utility, grid operator or third-party aggregator) defines the peak windows, establishes a baseline or expected consumption, verifies actual reductions during those windows, and calculates rebates based on the difference; rebates are contingent on meeting the program’s trigger conditions and measurement rules. Peak time rebates are a demand-response tool distinct from permanent rate discounts or rebates for installing equipment, because they pay only for verified behavioral or automated reductions during specified peak events.

virtual power plant technical

"their virtual power plant (VPP) and demand response efforts"

A virtual power plant is a software-driven system that links many small energy sources — such as rooftop solar panels, home batteries and flexible electricity use — and operates them together as if they were one larger power station. For investors, it matters because it can turn scattered assets into a reliable revenue stream and reduce costs for energy providers, much like organizing many individual taxis into a single fleet that can be dispatched efficiently to meet demand and earn steady fees.

distributed energy resource technical

"promote distributed energy resource (DER) adoption"

Small-scale power sources or storage devices — such as rooftop solar panels, home batteries, small wind turbines, or electric vehicle chargers — located close to where electricity is used rather than at a big power plant. They matter to investors because they change how energy is produced, sold and valued: like turning many homes into mini power stations, they can create new revenue streams, reduce demand for traditional power plants, alter utility costs and regulation, and shift where capital and subsidies flow.

AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

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 Opower programs helped deliver 1 gigawatt of demand reduction this year, providing critical resources for grid reliability through virtual power plants while helping customers reduce energy bills 

Enhancements extend year-round event support and add customer segmentation, helping utilities increase peak reduction performance

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Utilities using Oracle Opower have achieved record year-to-date peak energy demand reduction in North America. Oracle Opower programs activated across more than 70 winter and summer events, delivering 1 gigawatt (GW) of demand reduction, helped utilities maintain grid reliability and manage peak electricity demand more affordably for millions of residents across the United States. Through behavioral demand response (BDR) and peak time rebates (PTR) programs, Opower enabled utilities to expand participation in their virtual power plant (VPP) and demand response efforts to a broader range of customers, including those without connected devices. 

By encouraging customers to reduce or shift electricity use during peak demand periods, Oracle's AI- and behavioral science-powered programs help utilities tap into flexible capacity across their customer base and promote distributed energy resource (DER) adoption while helping customers lower their energy bills. For example, showing a customer that shifting air conditioning use by 15 minutes could save them money during a peak event, and then following up with how their household performed, is far more compelling than a generic request to use less power. With Opower PTR programs, utility customers can also earn monetary incentives when they reduce their energy use during peak events. 

Top highlights achieved in 2026 include:

• Oracle delivered 1 GW of demand reduction, the equivalent to more than 3 Fredonia Generation Stations in Washington state — "peaker" power plants that provide backup electricity during demand surges
• Oracle helped utilities reduce peak demand by delivering a record 73 events across winter and summer seasons, an increase of nearly 50% compared to 49 total events in 2025
• Utilities achieved an average peak savings of 16,592 kilowatts (kW) per event — equivalent to meeting the peak demand from 4,150 homes*
• 4.3 million customers were engaged, an increase of 30% compared to 3.3 million in 2025, demonstrating the rapidly growing reach and accessibility of these programs

Utilities' record-breaking results
Puget Sound Energy (PSE), a Washington state investor-owned utility serving 6,000 square miles primarily in Western Washington, has successfully incorporated BDR into its VPP approach. Today, the utility's Flex Events BDR program with Oracle has grown to represent a significant customer-facing facet of its set of load flexibility solutions as part of a broader VPP strategy. Utilizing customer communication channels, including text messaging, interactive voice calls, and email, the Flex Event program has driven statistically significant peak load reduction of up to 16.6 MW per event during three successive seasons of deployment.

Earlier this year, PSE adjusted its Flex Events program to include a bill credit of $0.50/kWh in addition to behavioral messaging, giving customers a further incentive to reduce usage during peak events. "This summer we introduced performance-based incentives to our behavioral opt-out program, Peak Time Savings, to broaden access to the benefits of demand response and provide customers with a more direct reward for taking action during demand response events," said Tom Smith, Supervisor for Demand Response for Puget Sound Energy. "We're excited to continue partnering with Oracle to design customer-focused solutions that are easy to participate in, reduce barriers to engagement, and deliver meaningful value to the people we serve."

CPS Energy, the nation's largest public power, natural gas, and electric company serving San Antonio and portions of seven adjoining counties, also achieved record-breaking results this summer, with more than one-third of nearly a million customers participating in BDR events. CPS Energy added, "We want everyone in our community to benefit from reducing peak demand. Oracle's Behavioral Demand Response brings more than 350,000 customers of all backgrounds into our Virtual Power Plant. We called 12 events this summer, reaching nearly 19 megawatts during the month of August."

Year-round program enhancements
Earlier this year, Oracle expanded its BDR and PTR programs to support year-round events, giving utilities the opportunity to replicate summer successes before, during, and after winter storms hit. As many regions of the country move closer to dual peaking or winter peaking grid demand, this functionality will help utilities respond accordingly. Opower's solutions also now allow utilities to simultaneously target different customer segments with different messaging or product variations, ensuring each customer gets the right communication for them. 

"Behavioral demand response and peak time rebates are growing pillars of demand reduction," said Matt O'Keefe, group vice president and head of Opower, Oracle. "These programs give utilities more ways to deepen savings, reward customers, and contribute to virtual power plants that draw on the participation of entire communities. Expanding these programs means more households can share in the savings while helping keep the grid reliable."

*Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) data, 2026

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Contact Info      
Brent Curry
Oracle PR for Utilities
brent.curry@oracle.com 

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SOURCE Oracle

FAQ

AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

How much peak demand reduction did Oracle Opower programs deliver in 2026?

Utilities using Oracle Opower programs delivered 1 gigawatt of peak demand reduction year to date in 2026. The programs supported 73 winter and summer events and engaged 4.3 million customers.