Oakland – September 07, 2026 -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has launched SHARE (Smart Home Assets for Reliability and Efficiency), a Virtual Power Plant designed to enroll nearly 21,000 existing home energy devices and deliver hundreds of deeply discounted home energy upgrades across Bay Area communities.
PG&E assembles a multi-partner coalition to deploy the VPP
The initiative brings together PG&E, Rewiring America, Google, Carrier Global Corporation, Tesla, Sunrun, Renew Home, Demand Side Analytics and encoord to coordinate a network of home batteries, smart devices and battery-enabled heat pumps that reduce energy use during peak demand periods.
PG&E is working with Tesla, Sunrun and Renew Home to enroll nearly 21,000 existing flexible energy devices into the program, with the resource expected to begin supporting the grid as early as fall 2026.
Google fully funds the program to cover incentives and deployment costs
Google will fund SHARE in full, covering customer incentives, technology deployment and program delivery. Amanda Peterson Corio, Global Head of Energy & Power at Google, said the program unlocks distributed energy resources to strengthen grid capacity while delivering benefits to local communities.
Carrier deploys battery-enabled heat pumps as the launch technology partner
Carrier is providing its battery-enabled heat pump solution, including the Carrier Performance Series Variable-Speed Heat Pump with EnerSync, which automatically stores and shifts energy use. Eligible customers in Santa Clara and Alameda counties will have access to new Carrier high-efficiency, battery-enabled heat pumps, lower monthly energy bills and improved home resilience.
PG&E and Demand Side Analytics orchestrate the resources into a distributed power plant
PG&E and Demand Side Analytics will combine the enrolled devices and new deployments into a distributed power plant aimed at unlocking additional capacity on the regional electric transmission system. PG&E will lead planning, analysis and validation to evaluate customer impacts, system performance and long-term benefits.
Rewiring America manages household enrollment and installer standards
Rewiring America will work directly with households to deploy and enroll energy-saving electric technologies, while coordinating with local installers to ensure projects meet quality and performance standards.
Program timeline runs through 2027 with initial findings due by early 2027
PG&E and Rewiring America will begin reaching out to eligible customers starting fall 2026. SHARE is expected to run through 2027, with initial findings from the program expected in late 2026 or early 2027. The proof-of-concept could later expand beyond residential customers to commercial, industrial and utility-scale applications.