How Behind-the-Meter Battery Programs Are Strengthening Customer and Grid Resilience

Power outages are becoming more frequent, more costly, and more disruptive. From increasing extreme weather events to aging infrastructure and rising electricity demand driven by growth and electrification, utilities are under growing pressure to improve reliability while supporting customers with increasingly diverse energy needs.

To meet these challenges, many utilities are investing in grid modernization and resilience programs that include distributed energy resources (DERs), including behind-the-meter (BTM) battery storage, rooftop solar, and demand response. Together, these technologies can improve reliability, enhance customer resilience, and create a more flexible electric grid.

BTM battery storage is an increasingly important part of this strategy. While often associated with renewable energy integration, BTM batteries can deliver value far beyond backup power. They help keep critical services running during outages, support customers with essential energy needs, reduce strain on the grid during peak demand, and, when aggregated, serve as dispatchable grid resources through virtual power plants (VPPs).

Protecting Customers When Outages Occur

For many customers, a power outage is more than an inconvenience—it can quickly become a health and safety emergency. Households that rely on electrically powered medical equipment, such as oxygen concentrators, CPAP machines, or ventilators, face significant risks when electricity is interrupted. Other customers depend on refrigeration to preserve temperature-sensitive medications, including insulin and specialty prescriptions.

Many utilities already identify Medical Baseline customers who rely on electricity to power life-supporting medical equipment or preserve temperature-sensitive medications. Battery programs provide an opportunity to further support these customers by helping reduce the impacts of outages while complementing broader emergency preparedness and resilience efforts.

Modern BTM battery systems can automatically detect an outage and transition to backup power within seconds, often without the homeowner taking any action. This seamless switchover helps keep critical equipment operating while minimizing disruptions to daily life.

Battery storage also helps customers stay connected during emergencies by powering internet routers, mobile devices, and other communication equipment. Access to reliable communications allows households to receive emergency alerts, communicate with healthcare providers, stay in touch with family members, and monitor utility restoration updates. Together, these capabilities help improve customer resilience when reliable electricity matters most.

Through the implementation of utility-sponsored battery programs, we've consistently seen that customers value more than backup power alone. For many households, maintaining access to medical equipment, refrigerated medications, communications, lighting, and other essential household loads provides peace of mind during outages and helps them remain safely in their homes until utility service is restored.

Delivering Value Beyond Backup Power

The value of BTM batteries extends well beyond emergency backup power. Many systems give homeowners real-time visibility into their stored energy through mobile apps, helping them prioritize essential loads and make informed energy decisions during an outage.

When paired with rooftop solar, batteries become even more valuable. Excess solar energy generated during the day can be stored for use after sunset or during an outage, extending backup power while reducing reliance on the grid during periods of high demand.

For utilities, these systems represent more than a customer amenity. Distributed battery storage can help reduce peak demand, improve load flexibility, and support broader grid modernization efforts while giving customers greater energy independence and resilience.

Successfully delivering these benefits requires more than installing battery systems. Effective utility battery programs rely on coordinated customer outreach, site assessments, electrical design, permitting, interconnection, inspections, contractor coordination, and ongoing customer support. When these elements come together, utilities can efficiently scale battery deployments while delivering a seamless customer experience and maximizing program impact.

Turning Behind-the-Meter Batteries Into Grid Assets

As adoption of BTM battery storage grows, its value extends beyond individual homes. Networks of distributed batteries can be aggregated into virtual power plants, allowing utilities to coordinate thousands of systems as a flexible grid resource.

These aggregated batteries can help balance supply and demand in real time, reduce stress on the grid during peak demand periods, and improve overall system flexibility. Rather than serving only as emergency backup, BTM batteries become active participants in grid operations.

For utilities, battery storage programs represent an opportunity to strengthen customer resilience while advancing broader grid objectives. By integrating distributed battery storage into demand flexibility and DER strategies, utilities can improve reliability, enhance customer satisfaction, and create a more resilient energy system.

Looking Ahead

As communities face increasing challenges from severe weather and an evolving electric grid, battery storage is becoming an important part of improving resilience. Beyond providing backup power for individual households, distributed battery storage can support grid reliability by reducing peak demand and, when aggregated, providing valuable grid services through virtual power plants.

As utilities develop the next generation of distributed energy resource programs, battery storage should be viewed not simply as backup power, but as a strategic asset that can strengthen both customer resilience and overall grid performance. Utilities that successfully integrate these technologies into their program portfolios will be better positioned to meet customer expectations while preparing for a more dynamic energy future.