Regulated Utility Vendor Distribution Model
Just as OpenVPP has partnered with a world-leading stablecoin provider for the transactions portion of our offering, we have also partnered with a multi-billion dollar utility industry vendor (to be announced shortly after launch) to integrate the OpenVPP solution into the infrastructure of their utility partners. To begin with the partnership will focus on 3 key use cases:
1.Meter Data Management 2.0
Concept: Enable 3rd party meters to connect to a utility head-end for submetered usage billing direct to devices.
Leverage blockchain to standardize the payment network and extend it to 3rd party devices.
Removes the need for designing a new standard and custom integration work. Utilizes trust inherent to blockchain (which handles over $1T of capital today).
Ultra low cost and immediate settlement (1 cent or less per transaction and settlement in 10s or less).
Example Customer Experiences:
Public EV charging initiated by a QR code at any site, then directly billed to the customer’s utility account without needing 10 different iPhone apps.
Solar or battery export payment and settlement directly measured down to the device without needing custom programs to audit the billing trail.
Multi-family charging with EV chargers in the shared parking garage linking billing back to the tenant’s apartment unit’s utility bill.
How it works:
OpenVPP creates accounting tokens for each use case (e.g. $evcharge).
When a customer signs up to use the service, their account is associated with an OpenVPP wallet address (this is transparent to the customer).
The participating devices record their usage to the chain during events (e.g when a charging session happens) and the usage is then associated back to that customer’s wallet.
The usage is then associated to the customer’s existing utility bill.
2. Next Generation VPP
Concept: Create a territory wide standardized direct-to-consumer VPP with dispatch flexibility and instant settlement.
Bring 3rd party controllable devices into a territory map (i.e. similar to the OpenVPP World demo at world.openvpp.energy)
Dispatch either directly with flexible offers (e.g. $/year flat fee, $/kWh event payments, etc.) or connected to an existing utility DERMS
Devices settle load reductions and exports at the device level instantly, with verification of the result coordinate with the existing smart meter system
OpenVPP supports over 40 brands of electric vehicles and any OCPP compliant EV charger today
Example Customer Experiences:
The customer receives $200/year for a fully managed charging experience which guarantees the customer will always being charged by 8AM for work, while optimizing for utility economics
An export program which pays home batteries $1/kWh for exported energy during heatwaves, settled in real-time
Opt-in day-ahead time periods (event enrollment by text message) for ultra low cost EV charging, which when accepted, automatically coordinates charging during solar hours on days with low or negative system pricing.
How it works:
Builds on the same capability of “Meter Data Management 2.0” above and includes:
A map of the territory accessible by utility planners and program managers, option to display to customers as well
A connector to the utility DERMS or control of the VPP via a web interface for utility planners and program managers which allows for grouping and control from the system down to the secondary distribution level
After an event is called or a device records output, credits for exports can be paid out directly in cash or can be applied to the bill – accounted directly for in the MDM and on-chain
3. Utility Bill Payments
Concept: Enable customers to generate value in the way they pay for their bill.
Create financial offers which benefit the customer and the utility
Example Customer Experiences:
Customer can purchase energy (e.g. $kWh tokens) at the start of the year at a fixed price, the utility benefits with instant cash up front and the customer is not exposed to changing electric prices, $kWh tokens are consumed through the year as electricity usage is recorded
Payments (either owed to a customer, or pre-payments from a customer) can be placed into a liquid account which begins earning a 4% APY immediately (similar to a HYSA in the consumer space)
Customer payment plans on-bill for capacity upgrades or other service work which allows for spreading the cost over time to the customer with simple accounting for the utility
How it works:
Builds on the same capability of “Meter Data Management 2.0” above and includes:
A token to fiat (cash, credit/debit card, and bank account link) bridge which allows customers to send/receive payments without engaging with the blockchain directly
Creation of token programs which leverage both on-chain accounting capability and/or connection to banking products (such as the 4% APY capability)
A web interface or API to integrate into existing utility pages for customer management
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