Google has bought a lot more flexibility from the PJM grid. On 22 October it and Voltus announced that the 100 MW virtual power plant agreed in June will grow by 1,070 MW. According to Utility Dive, Google pays Voltus to line up customers who cut their consumption when PJM runs short, and Voltus expects to reach full size in three to four years and to operate the programme under the Google contract through 2040.
What Gets Enrolled
Voltus pools the capacity from homes, businesses and industrial sites. Google's own post names smart thermostats, batteries and industrial assets, and Utility Dive adds on-site generation and adjustments to industrial processes. Voltus bids the pool into the PJM market, and when the grid is tight it signals the enrolled sites to draw less. Participants get bill savings and cash payments. Neither the Voltus release nor the article gives a contract value, a split by asset type or a number of sites.
Why It Happens in PJM
Utility Dive links PJM's thin reliability margins largely to data center demand. Monitoring Analytics, PJM's market monitor, reported in March that demand response revenue rose 240 % from 2024 to 2025, to about $523.5 million, and that emergency demand response made up 88 % of it. Voltus says participants can earn up to $350,000 per MW-year; that is its own claim, not an audited average.
The timing is not an accident. Earlier this month FERC largely rejected PJM's "bring your own new capacity" plan, which would have curtailed large loads without new supply when the grid is stressed (our report). Google's answer is to buy capacity that already exists on the demand side rather than wait for new plant.
Where Standby Generators Fit, If at All
The sources do not say whether backup generators are part of the portfolio. Utility Dive's "on-site generation" could include them, but the article does not confirm it. A site with standby sets that receives such an offer should start with the air permit, because the hours allowed for non-emergency running and the testing limits decide what can be promised. The DOE order that let PJM call on backup generation from 13 to 16 October (our report) was a one-off emergency measure and says nothing about a standing commercial arrangement.
Ask the aggregator in writing which generation counts, for how many hours a year and under whose permit.
Sources: Utility Dive, Google, Voltus