The purpose of this project is to develop and strengthen the integration of mass market (Small Commercial and Residential) Distributed Energy Resources (DER) into the California grid, working with both utilities and the Independent System Operator (ISO) using a “market based” approach. This project aims to achieve aggregated “mass customization” of energy demand by integrating products from multiple industries including HVAC, plug load controls, electric vehicles, customer owned PV, and customer sited storage.

The Open Demand Side Resources Integration Platform (DSRIP) is the integrating software platform that will access all these devices using both open standards and application programming interfaces (API). It will demonstrate how multiple small loads, each impacted by and tuned to individual customer preferences, can provide load management for both utilities and the ISO in California. This approach recognizes that the nature of DERs are changing, and previously distinct sub groups such as demand response, electric transportation, energy storage and, local generation are increasingly merging into a single integrated grid.