Assemblymember Anna Kelles of Ithaca is trying to turn living rooms and driveways across New York into a massive shared power plant, and she is starting with a bill that would make utilities pay you for it.
Kelles introduced A10354, the New York State Grid Reliability and Energy Affordability Transition Act, on Feb. 26, 2026. The proposal would require the state's major investor-owned utilities to build and run "virtual power plants" - networks that link together home batteries, electric vehicles, smart thermostats and other devices so the grid can tap them during peak demand. Backers say households could get fatter checks for enrolling their gear and the state could dodge spending big on new infrastructure. Utility veterans say lawmakers are venturing into highly technical regulatory turf.
What Kelles’ Bill Would Make Utilities Do
A10354 tells each covered utility to file a virtual power plant program proposal spelling out standard terms and compensation. Utilities would also have to create separate program riders for three buckets of equipment: batteries, other in-home devices and electric vehicles.
The bill text, posted by the New York State Assembly, authorizes cost recovery for utilities, hands the Public Service Commission 10-year scale targets and performance incentives to set, and orders detailed annual reporting on enrolled capacity and participants. All of those powers and marching orders are laid out in the Assembly language.
Why Supporters Say Virtual Plants Could Pay Off
A state-commissioned study by The Brattle Group found that getting large numbers of customers to play along could unlock roughly 8.5 gigawatts of grid flexibility by 2040. In a scenario with hundreds of thousands of households signed up, the study estimated about $2.4 billion a year in avoided system costs for New Yorkers.
NYSERDA’s "Zero by 40" technoeconomic assessment backs up the concept, flagging virtual power plants as a candidate dispatchable emissions-free resource that could help the state hit its zero-emissions targets. The NYSERDA report walks through that analysis in detail.
Model Language, Other States’ Moves
Kelles did not dream this up from scratch. The bill leans on model policy language from Solar United Neighbors, which stresses upfront incentives, open access and fair pay if virtual or distributed power plants are going to work for regular households.
Supporters point to Virginia as a real-world test case. Lawmakers there adopted legislation based on similar templates last year that orders a utility pilot, a move advocates say shows how quickly these programs can get off the ground, according to Utility Dive.
Skeptics In The Utility World Push Back
Not everyone is lining up to plug in. Richard Miller, a former top lawyer at Con Edison, told New York Focus the plan risks "micro-manag[ing]" regulators on a highly technical issue. He warned it could also create double standards, such as limiting penalties for customer participants while traditional generators still face strict performance rules.
Kelles’ allies counter that the bill was drafted to sit comfortably inside New York’s existing regulatory framework, and say a Senate sponsor is expected to emerge soon, per reporting.
How This Would Actually Roll Out
If the bill becomes law, the Public Service Commission would set program targets and incentive frameworks. Utilities would then have to file annual reports that break out enrolled capacity by technology type and customer class, with cost recovery explicitly allowed in the statute.
The New York State Assembly records show the measure was introduced Feb. 26 and sent to the Committee on Energy. That means the real action would shift to PSC proceedings and utility filings, not bulldozers building new bricks-and-mortar plants overnight.
For New Yorkers with batteries in their basements, EVs in their driveways or smart thermostats on the wall, Kelles’ bill could eventually mean new income streams for letting the grid tap those devices, and a different route to avoiding more peaker plants. The next chapter plays out in Albany, where committee debates and the hunt for that Senate sponsor will tell whether this virtual power plant vision gets real.
