In late October, Illinois lawmakers passed the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability (CRGA) Act to tackle rising electricity costs and strengthen the state’s power grid. Building on earlier clean energy laws, the legislation is designed to curb market volatility like the price spikes while preparing the grid for growing demand. 

The law commits Illinois to adding 3 gigawatts of battery storage so power can be saved when prices are low and used during peak demand, while a new “Storage for All” program extends those benefits to low-income households, nonprofits, and public facilities. CRGA also expands energy efficiency programs that help families cut waste and lower bills. 

CRGA also clears the way for virtual power plants, allowing customers to support the grid and reduce the need for costly new generation. Together, the CRGA Act positions Illinois to deliver cleaner, more reliable and more affordable energy.

For Texas resident Tom Cook, supporting the power grid starts with an app on his phone. On sunny days in the Hill Country, Tom watches electricity from the solar panels on his roof power his home, then flow back to the ERCOT grid. Through a VPP pilot program run by Bandera Electric Cooperative, the battery on the side of his house sends stored energy to the grid when demand is high, earning him bill credits in return. Cook is one of the small but growing number of Texans participating in ERCOT’s ADER pilot – which allows customer-owned distributed energy assets like solar panels, batteries, smart thermostats, and EVs to be aggregated and used like a traditional power plant. Experts say several gigawatts of untapped power already sit behind the meter in Texas homes and businesses. With electricity demand projected to nearly double by 2030, VPPs offer a fast, affordable way to strengthen grid reliability while paying everyday Texans for helping keep the lights on.

Virginia has passed a bipartisan legislation – HB 2346 – requiring Dominion Energy Virginia to launch a VPP pilot and move toward a permanent program. The law sets clear deadlines for regulatory filings, allows participants through utilities and third-party aggregators, and directs regulators to evaluate performance during peak demand before establishing long-term procurement targets and metrics. 

This law provides a practical blueprint for using distributed energy assets as additional grid capacity at a time of rapid load growth, especially from data centers. This type of forward-thinking legislation positions Virginia as a national model for meeting reliability and affordability challenges without relying solely on new power plants or transmission.