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PURA approves extensions and a budget cut for three IES pilot projects
Summary
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority on July 23 granted milestone extensions for three Innovative Energy Solutions pilot projects, approving a reduced budget and a short schedule extension for Tantalus, a longer extension for GridEdge, and multiple milestone shifts for Smarter Grid Solutions.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority on July 23, 2025, adopted an interim decision granting schedule extensions and a budget modification for three pilot projects in the authority’s Innovative Energy Solutions (IES) program.
Authority staff said the IES program, established by a prior PURA decision and administered through a program cycle focused on demand‑side management, selected seven projects for phase‑3 deployment. Three selected pilots—Tantalus, GridEdge, and Smarter Grid Solutions (SGS)—sought changes to their milestone schedules and, in one case, to project funding. Staff evaluated motions filed by the three firms and recommended the authority grant the requested adjustments.
Tantalus told the authority it enrolled 52 households compared with a target of 200 and requested a reduction in its project budget from $1,290,000 to $972,000 and roughly a three‑month extension. Tantalus and its measurement and verification subcontractor said data quality remained strong and that extended timelines, additional weather data, and further testing of control strategies had improved analysis.
GridEdge requested moving the due date for its field demonstration report to Dec. 6, 2025, citing required project design changes to address customer concerns about impacts to solar tariffs and renewable energy credits and the unexpected exit of its vehicle‑to‑grid charger manufacturer, which reduced available time for system testing and data analysis. GridEdge said the extension would allow more robust testing and reporting.
SGS requested extensions for eight of nine project milestones, shifting overall completion to Feb. 2, 2026. SGS attributed delays to limited IT resources at UI (the utility program administrator), cybersecurity concerns about third‑party hosting, and challenges integrating sites. As of July 10, 2025, SGS advised it had UI authorization to deploy its software; staff said without the extension SGS would be limited to testing with simulated data.
Staff recommended that the authority grant motions 14, 15, and 16 to modify the standard form agreements (SFAs) and extend the projects’ schedules as requested. The commissioners adopted the interim decision by roll call vote with all present voting yes.
The interim decision updates SFA milestones and reporting timelines for the three pilots and preserves the program’s tracking, reporting, and cost‑recovery framework established in earlier IES orders. The authority’s adoption allows the projects additional time to complete real‑world testing and produce the field demonstration reports required under the program.
