Resources: Consert VPP Key to Diversified Energy Portfolio
The Consert Virtual Peak Plant provides a real-time, intelligent load management system that creates measurable and verifiable capacity, dispatchable energy and cost savings for utilities.
With more than 700,000 electric and 300,000 gas customers, CPS Energy in San
Antonio, Texas is one of the largest municipal utilities in the United States. While CPS
customers enjoy some of the lowest electricity rates in the country, the City of San
Antonio and CPS Energy, under the direction of CEO Doyle Beneby, have set aggressive
goals for energy efficiency and diversification of their generation portfolio.
The objective is not only to prepare the city for continued growth (currently the 7th
largest city in the country), but also position San Antonio as a leader in the new
energy economy and bring more high paying, high-tech jobs to the river city. CPS
Energy recognizes that to be sustainable it must balance financial viability,
commitment to the environment and social responsibility to the city.
Implementing a Virtual Peak Plant
To reduce peak load, overcome the intermittent nature of renewable sources and
address conservation goals, CPS Energy engaged Consert Inc. to provide the Consert
Virtual Peak PlantTM (VPP) solution to 140,000 residential and light commercial
facilities (with appliances under 50 Amps) to achieve a savings of approximately 250
MW. As part of the agreement, Consert relocated its headquarters from Raleigh, NC to
San Antonio.
“CPS Energy’s pursuit of diverse resources to generate electricity is what will allow us
to keep our customers’ bills among the lowest of major cities in the U.S.,” states
Doyle Beneby, CEO of CPS Energy. “By partnering with Consert, we’re adding a Virtual
Peak Plant to our resources – helping our customers control how energy is used in their
homes and reducing their bills. After all, what’s cheaper or cleaner than demand
reduction as a generation resource?”