FranklinWH Partners with Alliant and Entergy for VPPs
New residential battery partnerships aim to stabilize the power grid during periods of high demand.
Updated on Oct. 29, 2026 in Utilities
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FranklinWH has launched new virtual power plant (VPP) programs in collaboration with Alliant Energy and Entergy Louisiana. The programs allow residential battery owners to automatically discharge energy to the grid during peak demand periods.
Why it matters
Virtual power plant programs help utilities reduce the reliance on traditional utility-scale generation while lowering energy bills for participating customers. The initiative utilizes residential systems to provide reliable, dispatchable capacity to the electrical grid.
FranklinWH aPower 2 systems feature a 15kWh capacity and can scale to 225kWh per aGate. Participants can earn up to $1,500 in enrollment incentives and ongoing performance payments.
The players
FranklinWH
This company manufactures residential battery storage systems including the aPower 2 unit.
Alliant Energy
This utility provider operates over 275MW of large-scale battery storage and serves customers in Wisconsin and Iowa.
Entergy Louisiana
This electric utility company is implementing new VPP initiatives to expand its dispatchable capacity.
Department of Energy
This federal agency manages energy policy and provided a $5.1 billion loan to Alliant Energy.
Derapi
This technology firm is partnering with FranklinWH to streamline system enrollment and grid connectivity.
The details
The FranklinWH App manages energy dispatching, enabling systems to provide approximately 80% of stored energy during grid events. Derapi is facilitating the enrollment and connectivity process for these new utility programs.
Timeline
January 2025: DOE conditional loan approvals were announced.
October 13, 2026: The Alliant Energy partnership was announced.
October 28, 2026: Alliant Energy closed a $5.1 billion DOE loan.
2030: Entergy targets 155 MW of dispatchable VPP capacity.
Market Landscape
This move reflects a broader trend of utilities integrating decentralized residential storage to bolster grid stability. It positions these utility providers to capture more value from distributed energy resources as they move toward larger, cleaner generation portfolios.
Eligible customers can earn a one-time enrollment incentive of $100 per kWh of capacity and receive annual performance payments. These programs offer residents a way to offset costs while helping to reduce strain on the local energy grid.
The takeaway
Residential energy storage is increasingly becoming a critical asset for utility providers to manage peak demand. Homeowners with battery systems should review their local utility's VPP offerings to determine if they qualify for performance payments.
What happens next
Entergy plans to achieve its target of 155 MW of dispatchable virtual power plant capacity by 2030.
Further reading
Learn more about evolving grid infrastructure and energy management at the United States Utilities section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Energy Storage News.
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