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Start Earning With Voltus

This article gives an overview of how Voltus connects new customers to demand response revenue.

To get paid in the electricity market, grid operators require you to do these three things:

  1. Enroll in the relevant programs and define participation parameters
  2. Provide electricity usage data to demonstrate performance
  3. Prove ability to receive and act on dispatch signals

When you work with Voltus, you’re working with one of the most experienced energy markets teams in the world. We will be with you every step of the way to make sure you maximize earnings from your assets. We'll work with you throughout our onboarding process to integrate with the Voltus platform and get your assets earning in the market.

What can you expect when starting to work with Voltus?

  1. Data Collection. Voltus will obtain a signed Letter of Authorization and utility bill for each site. We'll use that information to work directly with the utility for the duration of your Voltus relationship. This enables us to obtain your electricity usage data, and calculate and submit the necessary data to the grid operator with minimal delays, ensuring that you get paid as soon as possible. We will also review your usage data to determine a participation plan that maximizes your earnings.

  2. Kick-off Meeting. After we have collected and reviewed the above information, we will schedule a kick-off meeting with your team. The purpose of this meeting is to review critical information about the program(s) you will be registered for. During the call, we will cover:

    • Software integration timelines
    • Program parameters
    • Curtailment plan and nominations
    • Voltlet installation plan (if applicable). The Voltlet is our on-site metering device. It gives us high granularity electricity usage data, which may be necessary depending on what program(s) you will be enrolled in.

Before the meeting, review our API documentation and experiment with our Sandbox Environment ahead of time so our team can answer any questions you might have as you start planning your integration.

  1. Software Integration. After the kick-off meeting, we'll work with you to implement your software integration. We offer an OpenADR API and a JSON REST API that supports polling and webhooks. You will schedule simulated dispatches in our sandbox environment to help verify your integration is working correctly. Then you will schedule a production test dispatch to confirm your connection to the Voltus production API. We will also validate that we are able to obtain energy usage data according to the requirements of your participation plan.

  2. Dispatch verification tests. Now we are ready to get the electrons moving! This step is a formal “Dispatch Verification” test. This test simulates a real, grid-initiated dispatch. We use this to verify how much load your sites can reduce under realistic operating conditions. Based on these results, we review and finalize your nominations with the market to ensure we are maximizing your earnings.

  3. Market registration. The last step is to enroll your sites with the relevant market(s) and notify you once registration is complete. Your first check will be in the mail sooner than you think!

By working with Voltus, you’re earning the absolute maximum from your DER assets. But don’t take our word for it! You and your team can use our market-leading VoltApp platform to see the status of your sites, projected revenue, and actual earnings, broken down by dispatch in real-time. Finally, our engineering and partners teams love talking with customers, so please feel free to reach out with any questions, no matter how small.