Texas-based home energy solutions provider EG4 Electronics has announced a strategic partnership with virtual power plant (VPP) platform Leap (Leapfrog Power, Inc.) to bring automated grid services to its residential energy storage systems.
EG4 says the partnership will enable its customers to access automated participation in utility and wholesale market grid services programs in places where Leap operates, as well as aligning site-level functions like backup power, time-of-use arbitrage, or demand charge management with grid participation.
For EG4, a company that has built a strong following in the DIY and cost-conscious installer markets with its “value-first” storage hardware, the partnership marks a significant step into the software-defined energy landscape.
Prior to the Leap partnership, EG4 equipment appeared on the approved lists for programs in a limited number of places, including Connecticut and Hawaii.
By leveraging Leap’s existing connectivity with wholesale energy markets, EG4 can offer its residential and commercial customers new ways to benefit from their energy storage systems in places where Leap operates, including California, New England, New York, Texas and areas within the PJM Interconnection.
The company has a track record of rapidly scaling VPP participation. In California, Leap was one of the initial providers for the California Demand Side Grid Support (DSGS) program, helping to aggregate hundreds of megawatts of battery capacity to mitigate blackout risks during heatwaves. Leap currently manages over 400,000 energy devices across the United States.
The move comes as the U.S. VPP market continues to mature, moving from pilot programs to commercial scale. In a roundup of solar industry expert predictions for 2026, EG4 CEO James Showalter previously told pv magazine USA he expects VPPs will expand into more markets, potentially even paying solar installation financing companies directly based on the performance of the systems they underwrite.
EG4 says the software integration process with Leap is expected to be complete by March, 2026 and also intends to feature select installations in upcoming case studies that demonstrate real-world grid impacts and system performance of the partnership.
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