Sunrun announced the completion of a first‑of‑its‑kind distributed power plant partnership with Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). The program, which ran from July through October 2025 after a testing phase in April to June, involved more than 1,000 Sunrun customers who exported stored solar energy to the PG&E grid during peak demand periods.
The partnership, part of PG&E’s Seasonal Aggregation of Versatile Energy (SAVE) program, paid each participating customer $150 for every battery that supplied power to the grid. Sunrun was compensated for coordinating the dispatch of the batteries, and the program demonstrated that distributed energy resources can keep local power lines and substations below operating limits, helping PG&E avoid or defer costly distribution upgrades and meet California’s load‑shifting targets without installing new poles and wires.
"Sunrun's groundbreaking program with PG&E shows that distributed power plants can help communities avoid the high cost of adding more poles and wires to accommodate load growth. We saw time and time again that our customers' batteries delivered location‑specific load relief with high precision and consistent performance. Only Sunrun has this ability to quickly scale both large and bespoke distributed power plant programs with a variety of offtakers," said Mary Powell, CEO of Sunrun.
"Home batteries and virtual power plants are valuable resources for supporting grid reliability and an essential part of California's clean energy future. PG&E is making great strides ensuring the grid is ready to partner with a diversity of energy providers. In collaboration with Sunrun, our Energy Efficiency Summer Reliability Program will serve as a unique resource that will positively contribute to our state's electric grid and complement a host of actions PG&E is taking to provide greater energy resilience to our customers and hometowns. Working together with partners like Sunrun is a win‑win‑win for our customers, the electric grid and California as a whole. Every day, we're looking at new and better ways to deliver for our hometowns while ensuring safety and reliability for our customers," said Patti Poppe, CEO of PG&E Corporation.
Sunrun’s Q3 2025 results showed a net income of $16.6 million, a 94.1% decline from the prior quarter, and an EPS of $0.06 versus analysts’ estimate of $0.07. Revenue fell 9.8% year‑over‑year to $2.0 billion, and the company’s operating margin was –181.3%. Sunrun is expected to report its next earnings on February 26, 2026, with analysts projecting an EPS of –$0.07. PG&E reported GAAP earnings of $1.18 per share for 2025, up from $1.15 in 2024, and non‑GAAP core earnings of $1.50 per share, with 2026 guidance of $1.64 to $1.66 per share. The partnership underscores the growing role of distributed energy resources in meeting California’s ambitious load‑shifting goals and demonstrates a cost‑effective strategy for grid reliability without new infrastructure.
Sunrun’s ability to aggregate thousands of residential batteries and deliver precise, location‑specific load relief positions it as a key player in the emerging distributed power plant market. For PG&E, the program offers a scalable, low‑capital alternative to traditional grid upgrades, reinforcing the utility’s commitment to reliability and sustainability while supporting California’s clean‑energy trajectory.
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