Open Circuit The demand stack: Turning customers into grid capacity [partner content]
Mar 31, 2026
Hannah Bascom, Chief Growth Officer at Uplight, coordinates programs that turn customer devices into grid flexibility. She explains the “demand stack” that layers efficiency, dynamic pricing, and demand response. The conversation covers Evergy’s case study, AI forecasting for reliable dispatch, one-click device enrollment, and how aggregated customer assets can defer costly grid upgrades.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
From Utility Compliance To Consumer Devices At Nest
- Hannah moved from PG&E compliance work to Nest to see how consumer devices could change utility relationships.
- At Nest she observed thermostats become devices customers wanted, enabling them to serve grid needs once installed.
Demand Stack Reframes DSM As A Unified Resource
- The demand stack frames efficiency, dynamic pricing, and demand response as a unified grid resource rather than isolated programs.
- Uplight treats efficiency as the cake base, rates as the mid layer, and VPP/demand response as the icing used for high-need hours.
Five Strategies Can Triple Peak Reduction Capacity
- Combining improved forecasting, higher enrollment, better event experience, staggered dispatch, and new programs can more than double DSM capacity.
- Evergy study projects increasing peak reduction from ~1.4% to ~5% of system peak by 2030.