Sen. Josh Becker introduced Senate Bill 913, which would let virtual power plants compete with gas‑fired peaker plants, potentially lowering California’s rising utility rates. Gas‑fired peaker plants are a major driver of California’s rising electricity bills. Most of the state’s aging peaker plants are used only during a handful of hours each year when demand peaks, yet customers must pay for them to be available year‑round. The bill has not faced open opposition from Pacific Gas & Electric , Southern California Edison , or San Diego Gas & Electric , the state’s major utilities. According to a 2024 analysis by the energy consultancy The Brattle Group for GridLab , virtual power plants could provide more than 15 % of the state’s peak grid demand by 2035 and deliver $550 million in annual utility customer savings, $417 million of which would come from deferring the need for generation capacity. The Demand Side Grid Support program, one of California’s most successful VPP programs, grew to more than a gigawatt of capacity last year and demonstrated that 100,000 home batteries can deliver 476 megawatts of power in a two‑hour test, enough to match a typical gas peaker plant. Currently, Californians spend about $1 billion per year to keep expensive peaker plants available. Becker said the bill would allow VPPs to “compete on a level playing field with traditional power sources to provide grid reliability at the lowest cost.” Renew Home manager Erik Lyon noted that “DSGS has been a very successful program, and it’s the thoughtful design elements that have made it that way.” Community energy resilience director The Climate Center Kurt Johnson warned that requiring revenue‑grade meters would add $800 to $1,000 per home and could crush the economics of VPPs. Sunrun senior director of policy Lauren Nevitt said “Building on this success means creating long‑term pathways for DERs to enter the resource adequacy and CAISO wholesale energy markets.” Tesla Energy senior director of residential energy Colby Hastings added “Enabling these resources to provide grid value will put downward pressure on rates, but we are not seeing urgency on using them.” If SB 913 passes, it could open a clear path for customer‑owned batteries, EV chargers, and smart thermostats to earn resource‑adequacy credits, potentially reducing rates and improving reliability. The bill would also require the California Public Utilities Commission to develop a methodology that credits energy exported from home batteries, in coordination with the California Energy Commission and the California Independent System Operator , while avoiding the costly revenue‑grade meters mandated by CAISO . The bill’s success will hinge on the commission’s willingness to streamline enrollment and measurement, and on the state’s ability to reconcile the interests of utilities and distributed‑energy owners.