New Brattle Group Report Shows Integrated Demand Stack Unlocks 60% More Peak Reduction Capability by 2030
Analysis demonstrates how utilities can strengthen grid flexibility and reliability by transforming siloed demand-side programs into a cohesive portfolio of predictable, planning-grade capacity
BOULDER, Colo., May 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Uplight and The Brattle Group today announced findings from a new report, “The Demand Stack: An Assessment of the Benefits,” illustrating how a representative utility could increase demand-side resource capability by 60% by 2030 - growing flexible capacity from 146 megawatts (MW) to 235 MW - by leveraging an integrated suite of Demand Stack strategies across demand response, energy efficiency, and time-of-use (TOU) rates designed around system needs.
The findings come as utilities across the U.S. face sustained load growth, tightening capacity margins, and rising costs, pushing them to prioritize solutions that can be deployed quickly and perform predictably to meet grid needs. The analysis, based on a representative Midwest utility’s system conditions and customer base, demonstrates how demand-side resources can be operated as planning-grade capacity that strengthens power system reliability in the near term. The findings point to the Demand Stack as a repeatable and customizable strategy for utilities to deliver near-term capability while laying the foundation for deeper demand-side impact over time.
“This analysis was designed to answer a key question that utilities are wrestling with right now: How can we quickly scale demand-side resources to address emerging power system challenges,” said Ryan Hledik, Principal at The Brattle Group and co-author of the study. “Our study quantifies the opportunity to grow a relatively untapped resource and illustrates concrete ways for utilities to harness that potential.”
Key Findings
The study quantifies the combined and interactive effects of six key behavioral and operational Demand Stack strategies to increase customer participation, improve portfolio performance, and enable greater demand-side resource utilization across more hours throughout the year. The results demonstrate that dependable demand-side capacity is built on broad, sustained customer participation. Demand Stack strategies strengthen that foundation by streamlining enrollment, improving the customer experience and pairing greater participation with operational improvements that help resources perform across a wider window of system need. Key findings include:
- 90 MW of additional peak reduction capability: With expanded participation and optimized dispatch, the utility’s 2030 peak demand reduction capability could increase from 3% to 5% of system peak demand.
- Baseload value across all hours: Energy efficiency decreases load overall, reducing the need for peaking resources in the highest demand hours while also supporting economically beneficial electrification and load growth.
- More capacity during hours of greatest need: The Demand Stack expands the portfolio’s capability to provide dispatchable demand reductions throughout more hours of the year.
- Customer participation as a reliability lever: Enrollment-focused strategies, including one-click enrollment, point-of-sale mechanisms and personalized multi-channel engagement, represented the largest combined opportunity, with the potential to contribute up to 53 MW of incremental capability.
“Planning-grade demand-side capability requires more than programs – it requires reimagining the demand-side as part of the grid’s core infrastructure,” said Hannah Bascom, General Manager of Uplight. “And that starts with customers. Demand-side capacity becomes more scalable and dependable when customers enroll easily, stay engaged and participate when the grid needs them, which is why Uplight is helping utilities unify the customer experience and operational backbone behind a single portfolio so participation can scale into dependable system value.”
Read the full report here and an in-depth explainer here.
To dive deeper into industry insights and Uplight’s role in advancing grid flexibility, read the latest edition of The State of Demand-Side Readiness report.
About Uplight
Uplight is a clean energy technology company that unlocks grid capacity by activating customers and their connected devices to generate, shift, and save energy. Uplight enables sustainable load growth by combining personalized customer experiences with an open, flexible load management platform through the Uplight Demand Stack: integrating energy efficiency, electrification, rates, and flexibility programs to improve grid resilience, reduce costs, and accelerate decarbonization for both energy providers and their customers.
Uplight serves over 80 energy providers, including 8 of the 10 largest North American utilities, and is a certified B-Corporation whose purpose is to create a more sustainable future using business as a force for good. To learn more about Uplight, visit https://uplight.com/.
About The Brattle Group
The Brattle Group answers complex economic, finance, and regulatory questions for corporations, law firms, and governments around the world. We are distinguished by the clarity of our insights and the credibility of our experts, which include leading international academics and industry specialists.
Brattle has 500 talented professionals across three continents. Our Electricity Practice serves utilities, grid operators, power producers, customers, regulators, developers, investors, law firms, and policymakers. For more than three decades, our experts have been recognized as trusted advisors and thought leaders in the planning, regulation, litigation, and operations of electricity grids and markets. Our clients collectively serve more than 90% of North American electricity customers, and our experts have testified before courts and regulatory agencies worldwide. For more information, please visit www.brattle.com.
Contact
V2 Communications for Uplight
Uplight@V2comms.com
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
