Virtual Peaker expands Canadian grid flexibility pilot with Newfoundland Power

By AI, Created 10:59 AM UTC, May 20, 2026, /AGP/ – Virtual Peaker said its work with Newfoundland Power on a winter demand-response pilot in Newfoundland enrolled nearly 600 customers in two months and helped the utility run an event during its late-January system peak. The program uses smart thermostats to shift electric heating away from peak hours, offering a test case for winter grid flexibility as electrification raises demand.

Why it matters: - Winter-peaking utilities in Canada are under growing pressure from electrified heating, making flexible residential load more valuable. - The pilot tests whether smart thermostats can reduce peak demand without hurting customer comfort. - Results could shape future demand-response program design across Newfoundland Power’s service territory.

What happened: - Virtual Peaker announced its role in Newfoundland Power’s TakeCharge Mysa Thermostat pilot, expanding the company’s footprint in Canada. - The pilot launched in December 2025 and ran through the 2025–2026 winter season. - Newfoundland Power enrolled nearly 600 customers across Newfoundland in two months and exceeded its goal. - More than 2,700 devices participated, helping the utility run an event during its system peak in late January.

The details: - The pilot uses Mysa smart thermostats to shift residential electric space-heating load to off-peak periods during winter peak events. - Virtual Peaker’s VPP platform powers the pilot’s control and coordination. - The program is evaluating customer comfort, pre-heating strategies and whole-home impacts. - Newfoundland Power is analyzing how demand response can work in winter-peaking systems. - The deployment is all-Mysa and is based in Newfoundland, where Mysa is headquartered. - CLEAResult is serving as the implementation partner. - Guidehouse is the independent pilot evaluator. - Newfoundland Power received funding from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador through the Green Transition Fund to support the pilot. - Newfoundland Power is the primary distributor of electricity on the island portion of Newfoundland and Labrador. - Newfoundland Power purchases 93% of its energy from Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro. - The utility serves about 278,000 customers across Atlantic Canada’s most expansive service territory.

Between the lines: - The pilot is both a utility test and a customer adoption test, since fast enrollment matters as much as technical performance. - A locally rooted deployment may help build trust in a market where winter heating is central to household energy use. - The project highlights how demand response is moving beyond summer air-conditioning peaks into cold-climate heating loads. - Virtual Peaker and Mysa are using the pilot to show that grid flexibility can be delivered with limited disruption to customers.

What’s next: - Pilot results will inform future demand-response program design. - Newfoundland Power could use the findings to consider broader deployment across its service territory. - Utilities across Canada will watch the outcome as they look for tools to manage rising winter peaks. - More information about the pilot is available here. - More information about the Virtual Peaker platform is available at Virtual Peaker.