A renter-friendly pilot program in New York City is aiming to reduce strain on the power grid while helping customers with power bills.
Traffic Alert: All lanes blocked on I-295 SB at Heckscher Drive after multi-vehicle crashThis Week in Jacksonville: Business Edition - Former Jags linebacker helps athletes translate sports skills to businessMan found dead in motel parking lot on Philips Highway after reported shooting: JSO2 people found dead inside Beach Haven home near San Pablo Parkway: JSOSonam Velani and Yan Sim plug in a battery from Every Electric to power an air conditioner as part of a pilot program with the city's energy company Con Edison to reduce pressure on the electrical grid Monday, April 27, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York.
Sonam Velani and Yan Sim plug unbox a battery from Every Electric to power an air conditioner as part of a pilot program with the city's energy company Con Edison to reduce pressure on the electrical grid Monday, April 27, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Sonam Velani hooks up a battery from Every Electric to power an air conditioner as part of a pilot program with the city's energy company Con Edison to reduce pressure on the electrical grid Monday, April 27, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York.
Sonam Velani shows an app that is used to plug in a battery from Every Electric to power an air conditioner as part of a pilot program with the city's energy company Con Edison to reduce pressure on the electrical grid Monday, April 27, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. A battery from Every Electric to power an air conditioner as part of a pilot program with the city's energy company Con Edison to reduce pressure on the electrical grid sits on an apartment floor Monday, April 27, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York.
Sonam Velani and Yan Sim plug in a battery from Every Electric to power an air conditioner as part of a pilot program with the city's energy company Con Edison to reduce pressure on the electrical grid Monday, April 27, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. – When a heat wave hits, millions of air conditioners switch on at once, straining the electric grid and driving up the risk of outages — and residents’ power bills.
To ease that strain, power companies may ask customers to do something many probably won't: Now, a renter-friendly pilot program in New York City is testing a different approach: plug-in batteries that can power air conditioners offline during peak demand, helping take pressure off the grid at its most stressed moments while still keeping residents cool.
“It’s basically a souped up version of the power bank that you would use to charge your phone when you go out,” said Andrew Wang, the chief executive officer of Every Electric, the company behind the pilot, which has partnered with the city's energy company Con Edison. The devices, about the size of a microwave, charge when electricity demand is low and then run window AC units for a few hours when demand spikes.
It's one of many partners participating in Con Edison's demand response programs, which pay customers to reduce or shift electricity use to support the grid. The pilot program is expanding to more than 1,000 homes this summer and participants can get rewarded in cash rebates. Experts say this initiative reflects the broader shift toward so-called virtual power plants, in which many small, distributed energy resources are coordinated to reduce strain during peak demand.
When scaled, solutions like this could have a significant impact on power reliability and affordability. , utilities often turn to backup power plants that don’t run as often, and are typically less efficient and more polluting, said Kevin Brehm, a manager at RMI, a nonprofit that researches energy systems and the transition to clean power.
Over time, those spikes can push utilities to build more power plants, often fossil-fuel based, to meet demand, with the costs eventually passed down to consumers.
“There’s a question of emissions, and then there’s also a really important question around affordability,” said Brehm. That’s why power companies often ask residents to conserve energy during the hottest days of the year, and set higher rates during peak hours to encourage people to conserve power. Those strategies “can be hard to rely on because they don’t know exactly how consumers are going to behave,” Brehm added.
One approach is Every Electric's demand response program, which pays customers to reduce or shift electricity use during periods of high demand.. They connect thousands of small energy devices, like home batteries or smart appliances, and coordinate them to send power back to the grid when demand spikes, easing strain without building new plants.
California, for example, is working to develop one of, paying hundreds of thousands of participants to send stored energy back to the grid during extreme climate events. Most of these programs are limited to homeowners with solar panels. Con Edison said batteries can help reduce peak demand, support renewable energy and lessen the need for new infrastructure.
Every Electric’s program works specifically for people with window AC units, who are typically renters, though it does not export power back to the grid. Instead, it reduces demand by using stored battery power. Still, Brehm said programs like it are part of the broader push to integrate consumer energy devices into the grid and reward the services they provide.
“I can’t put solar panels on my roof,” said Bianca Pasternack, a New York City renter enrolled in the program. “This is at least something that’s accessible and easy. It was very set-it-and-forget-it. ”The battery plugs into the AC unit, then into the wall outlet.
It’s connected to a smartphone app that detects when demand is low, charging the battery during off-peak hours and using it to power the AC during peak times, usually from 1 to 4 p.m. or 4 to 8 p.m. during the hottest months. Participants can also earn money for taking part, roughly the equivalent of the cost of a July electric bill, according to the company. Pasternack said she received a $100 gift card at the end of the season.
The company says its pilot is growing from about 200 kilowatts of flexible capacity last year to roughly 2 megawatts this summer, and could expand much further. By comparison, California's program exceeds 200 megawatts. The company is looking to expand to other cities, Wang said. Although Every Electric's program currently operates at a small scale, Brehm says systems like this could meaningfully reduce strain on the grid if they reach enough households.
“It’s a matter of how we’re able to get to that scale,” he said, noting that widespread adoption is a key issue that depends on how easily the technology can be deployed and integrated into the grid. He added that Every Electric’s installation process is easily accessible.
“It’s plug-and-play and you don’t need a ton of permissions. ”The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’sCopyright 2026 The Associated Press.
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Donation Drive: News4JAX hosts Positively JAX collection for wildfire victimsFormer Bolles and NFL star Hayden Hurst finds strength in giving back,New seeds, new products and getting ready for round threeHeavy JSO presence near Walmart at San Pablo and Atlantic1 shot in Butler Beach road rage incident; another person in custodyEpiscopal Girls Lacrosse looking forward to being back in the Final 4 🥍👀Residents react after man shot, killed by police in their neighborhoodElementary schooler shares message for Brantley County community as students return to schoolSecond week of trial begins for 4 men accused in the murder of Jacksonville rapper Julio FoolioDonations can be dropped off at area Navy Federal Credit Union locations
Environment Andrew Wang Kevin Brehm Technology U.S. News Climate Lifestyle
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Fact-checking a 152% jump in hate crimes in New York CityAs New York officials consider buffer zones around houses of worship, a state senator said New York City hate crimes jumped 152% over a year. The statistic comes from an official police count, but experts urge caution about drawing large conclusions.
Read more »
Before Rudy Giuliani became a punchline, he saved New York CityBefore the election lawsuits and the disbarment, Rudy Giuliani turned the most dangerous city in America into the safest.
Read more »
Schneps Media dominates New York state with record-setting win at New York Press Association BetterSchneps Media, which owns more than 100 publications and websites across New York City and Long Island, had a record-setting showing in the 2025 New York
Read more »
New York City announces 5 new public schools to open in Queens, the Bronx this fallSome are for students with disabilities and others are centered on the arts - one is even specifically focused on hip-hop.
Read more »
New York City Ballet dancers teaching choreography to group with disabilitiesFrom the music to the precise moves, a group of lucky individuals is getting a rare opportunity to learn ballet from the pros.
Read more »
Woman Arrested After Posing as Teenager to Enroll in New York City High SchoolA 28-year-old woman was arrested after she successfully masqueraded as a 16-year-old student in a Bronx high school for two weeks, allegedly to obtain more public assistance.
Read more »