The KEEA & EEA-NJ’s 2025 Policy Conference Was All About Change – And How to Navigate It
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This year, HomeWise AI participated as a sponsor and exhibitor at the KEEA & EEA-NJ's 2025 Policy Conference “Navigating Change.” The annual event brings together policymakers from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, as well as utility companies, energy efficiency program administrators, implementers, and contractors. It provides an opportunity to learn about the future of energy efficiency and connect with industry peers.
The conference was held on September 10-11 in Somerset, NJ. The theme focused on change – “what’s evolving in our industry, how to navigate it, and how to make the most of it.” Nearly 300 attendees participated, with keynote speakers from Accenture, the NJ Board of Public Utilities, and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), discussing the future of energy efficiency in the region.
This year’s speakers did not shy away from addressing the elephant in the room—the administration’s war on climate action—and how policy shifts have impacted energy efficiency, which has traditionally been a bipartisan issue. This is a politically challenging time, but panelists and keynote speakers encouraged industry veterans and newcomers alike to unite in support of the clean energy transition.
Electricity demand is growing faster than supply.
One of the key themes of this year's conference focused on the relationship between energy efficiency and electrification. Molly Bauch, North America Connected Energy Lead at Accenture and the opening keynote speaker, discussed the potential of virtual power plants (VPPs) to provide solutions for regulators, utilities, and other grid stakeholders in addressing key energy challenges like reliability, affordability, decarbonization, and rapid electrification.
VPPs are a collection of hundreds of thousands of small-scale energy resources in our homes—thermostats, electric vehicles (EVs), appliances, HVAC equipment, batteries, and solar arrays — that can be “flexibly charged, discharged, or managed to meet grid needs.” When VPPs are coordinated with grid operations, they can provide many of the same energy services as a traditional power plant, including load shifting, energy, and ancillary services.
Energy efficiency has long been a cost-effective way to reduce energy use and lower household bills. As the saying goes, the cheapest and cleanest energy is the energy we don’t use. It has also been effective in providing a system-wide benefit for the grid, helping to ensure overall reliability and sufficient generation.
However, the rising demand for electricity, driven by the electrification of the transportation sector and increased data center use, threatens to outpace supply. This higher demand has also increased costs for consumers by 30% or more, with additional hikes expected by year's end.
As electricity demand threatens to exceed supply, energy efficiency is evolving to address the growing impacts of climate change. This includes aligning energy efficiency initiatives with state climate targets to focus on energy affordability and a cleaner, more resilient grid.
The opportunities for virtual power.
On the second day of the conference, panelists Nick Dreher, Energy Regulatory Manager at Renew Home; Ben Dodge, Practice Lead for VPP Technical Due Diligence at DNV; and Haider Khan, Vice President of Energy Analytics at ICF, discussed how advances in behind-the-meter electric generation are being used to modify load shape, alleviate grid stress, and create market revenues that can benefit customers.
The passage of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Order No. 2222 in 2020 opened up opportunities for distributed energy resources (DERs) to participate in regional electricity markets through aggregation.
With this new order, VPPs can bid resources into wholesale electricity or capacity markets alongside utility companies to reduce grid stress during high-demand periods or to move power to cleaner energy sources, with revenues shared among utilities, aggregators, and participating customers.
VPPs can also help customers save money by delaying or avoiding upgrades to the distribution system. According to a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report, up to 44% of total utility spending in 2023 was used to modernize distribution grids, including poles, wires, and transformers that deliver electricity from substations to homes. These costs are passed on to customers through higher rates.
Grid flexibility is crucial for decarbonization. Without continuous power generation from fossil fuels and highly polluting “peaker” plants, the grid must be able to respond quickly and reliably to fluctuations in demand and supply. VPPs, along with AI-enabled energy-efficient building controls, are enabling a shift from system-wide benefits to locational benefits that better integrate renewable generation and reduce periods of high grid stress.
Innovations in Energy Showcase, PechaKucha, and More
In addition to panels and keynote speakers, the KEEA & EEA-NJ's 2025 Policy Conference also featured an audience favorite, the fast-paced PechaKucha, where five speakers have seven minutes to present 20 slides, as well as the conference’s first-ever “Innovations in Energy” showcase.
HomeWise AI had the opportunity to share information about the company, its products, and services with conference attendees. It was truly rewarding to receive feedback on the software and, more broadly, learn about the policies and programs shaping the future of energy efficiency in the area.
For information about the KEEA & EEA-NJ's 2025 Policy Conference, including speaker profiles, slides, and photos, visit: https://eeaofnj.org/navigating-change/
For more information about HomeWise AI, visit: https://www.homewiseai.org/
