How California’s SB 913 Changes the Value of On-Site Energy Assets

Published October 28, 2026

California now has a new path for counting customer-owned energy equipment as reliable grid capacity. On September 30, 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 913, which directs the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to let aggregated distributed energy resources (DERs) qualify for resource adequacy. Resource adequacy is the state program that requires utilities and other load-serving entities to secure enough capacity to meet demand during peak grid conditions. A companion bill, SB 905, was signed the same day, but it focuses mainly on utility reporting and performance metrics.

For commercial and industrial facilities, SB 913 is the law to watch. Many sites already host rooftop solar, battery storage, EV chargers, and controllable HVAC systems, and those assets have mostly been used to manage the facility’s own utility bill. SB 913 points toward a future in which the same equipment can also be compensated for supporting the grid during peak hours. Its practical effect, however, will depend on rules that the CPUC and the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) still need to write.

What SB 913 Changes

SB 913 gives the CPUC until June 30, 2028, working with the California Energy Commission and CAISO, to improve the pathways that let aggregated DERs count as resource adequacy capacity. The law defines an aggregated DER as a group of more than one distributed resource that can supply electricity to, or reduce demand on, the distribution system when called upon. Its main provisions include:

Resource adequacy eligibility: aggregated DERs can qualify for local, system, or flexible capacity if they meet the qualifying criteria, and load-serving entities can include them in resource adequacy filings and CPUC-ordered procurement.
Credit for exports and load reductions: counting methods are to credit both reduced demand and net energy exports during the hours that matter for resource adequacy.
Mixed portfolios: a single aggregation can combine different types of resources and technologies.
Multiple devices behind one meter: a customer can enroll several DERs, and different aggregators can manage different resources at the same site.
No double payment: customers on net energy metering or net billing tariffs cannot be compensated twice for wholesale market participation.

Why Device-Level Data Matters for Multi-Asset Sites

One of the most important shifts for facilities is how participation is measured. Under the new framework, telemetry can come from individual devices rather than from a whole-site smart meter. An aggregator interviewed by Utility Dive described device-level data as the key that unlocks the rest of the law’s opportunities.

This matters because commercial and industrial sites rarely run a single energy asset. A distribution center might combine rooftop solar, a battery system, fleet EV charging, and large HVAC loads behind one utility meter. When performance is measured only at the meter, it is hard to separate what a battery delivered from what the building happened to consume that afternoon. Device-level measurement allows a facility to enroll a battery in a grid program while keeping EV charging dedicated to operations, or to work with one aggregator for storage and another for HVAC flexibility.

It also raises practical requirements. Equipment will need to report reliable interval data, and controls must respond to dispatch signals without disrupting production schedules or occupant comfort. Sites whose assets run on proprietary or disconnected systems may find this harder than those with modern, integrated controls.

Opportunities and Open Questions

The pool of resources that could participate is growing quickly. State Sen. Josh Becker, the bill’s lead sponsor, has said that California utility customers add about 8,000 battery installations, totaling roughly 100 MW, each month, citing CPUC data. Separately, CAISO’s Demand and Distributed Energy Market Integration initiative, launched in 2025, includes a proposed accounting change that the trade group Advanced Energy United says could bring more than 2 GW of behind-the-meter resources into the wholesale market.

Several questions remain open before facilities can estimate the value of participating:

How will the CPUC calculate qualifying capacity for mixed aggregations of solar, storage, EVs, and flexible loads?
How will the rule against duplicate compensation affect sites that already export solar under net metering or net billing tariffs?
What metering and telemetry standards will device-level participation require?
How quickly will final rules arrive, given that the CPUC’s deadline extends to mid-2028?

Supporters see aggregated DERs as a way to make more use of equipment customers have already paid for. How much value facilities actually capture, however, will be determined by the proceedings at the CPUC and CAISO over the coming months and years.

Preparing Facilities for Grid Participation

SB 913 creates no new obligations for commercial and industrial facilities, but it could change how their on-site energy assets are valued. Equipment that has mainly been used to cut demand charges and offset consumption may eventually earn resource adequacy value as well. Because the CPUC has until mid-2028 to set the details, facilities have time to prepare, and early groundwork will make it easier to act once programs open. Practical steps include:

Inventory on-site DERs and controllable loads, including batteries, solar, EV chargers, and HVAC systems.
Confirm whether each asset can report device-level interval data and accept automated control signals.
Review current net metering or net billing enrollment to understand how it may interact with new programs.
Track CPUC and CAISO proceedings, and ask aggregators how multi-device enrollment could work at your sites.

Facilities that understand their assets and their data today will be best positioned to turn SB 913 from a policy change into measurable operational and financial value.