Leap and CalChoice Announce Program to Secure Consistent Energy Supply and Pricing

July 27, 2022 at 08:00 AM EDT

The seasonal program will protect California’s CCAs from volatile energy prices while ensuring that supply can meet periods of high demand

Leap, a leading energy market access provider, and California Choice Energy Authority (CalChoice), a California joint powers authority (JPA) that provides community choice aggregation (CCA) support services, today announced a program to establish fixed rates for the purchase of power from distributed energy resources (DERs) during periods of anticipated high demand, ensuring adequate energy supply while mitigating against volatile pricing in the energy market.

Through this unique initiative, Leap’s partners, who develop and operate DERs such as EV chargers, smart building technologies and battery storage, are rewarded for offering their assets on set dates and hours during the week with access to locked-in energy payments. Establishing consistent prices for the energy they sell into the market provides Leap’s partners with more predictable revenue streams for their grid contributions. The program protects CalChoice and its network of CCAs against costly price spikes due to high demand during unpredictable events such as heat waves.

“We’re excited by this opportunity to help CalChoice develop new solutions to protect against high energy prices, especially at a time when concerns of inadequate power supply dominate the news,” said Andrew Hoffman, Chief Development Officer at Leap. “Leap continues to pursue innovative solutions for grid services, and this is another example of how we can simultaneously support the needs of the grid, energy retailers and our commercial partners. As our suite of services expands, we’re seeing a rise in the number of partners who are motivated to take part in a cleaner, more reliable grid while also boosting their own revenue.”

Leap and CalChoice determine the days and times when wholesale energy prices are expected to be highest for users, using a variety of inputs such as weather and past trends. Through this program, partners leverage Leap’s analytics to lock in energy payments for two hour periods, three days a week, during which CalChoice will purchase this power at a predetermined price, allowing both parties to plan around a set, consistent rate. This seasonal program began in June and is set to run through October.

“For CalChoice and our portfolio of CCAs, having consistency and predictability is paramount,” said Jason Caudle, Executive Director of CalChoice. “Through this program with Leap, we’re able to offer peace of mind and reliability, all without any additional complexity. We’re always looking to innovate the way we purchase our power in an ever-evolving market, and are looking forward to assessing the results of this exciting initiative.”

About Leap

Leap is the leading global platform for generating new value from grid-connected resources and devices through integration with energy markets. Leap does all of the heavy lifting, seamlessly connecting technology partners to high-value revenue streams and providing a simplified, automated access point for market participation with batteries, electric vehicle charging, smart thermostats, HVAC systems, industrial facilities, and other flexible assets. By making it easy for new distributed resources to participate in energy markets, Leap lays the groundwork for virtual power plants (VPP). Leap empowers its partners to provide resilient, zero-carbon capacity to the grid while strengthening engagement with their customers through new value streams.

About CalChoice

CalChoice is a California Joint Powers Authority (“JPA”) that provides Community Choice Aggregation (“CCA”) support services, which include energy portfolio management, power procurement and trading, settlements and invoice validations, regulatory compliance, regulatory advocacy, financial and accounting, and rate-setting support functions. Furthermore, CalChoice provides a turn-key CCA offering to other city-specific CCA programs. Learn More at californiachoiceenergyauthority.com.