New partnership with Virtual Peaker lets REC members enroll thermostats, batteries, EV chargers, and electric vehicles in a program that eases grid strain.
LOUISVILLE, KY, UNITED STATES, July 30, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — As power supply costs climb and electricity demand grows rapidly across Virginia, Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC) is turning to smart-device technology to help ease the strain on its grid. Today, REC and Virtual Peaker, a leading virtual power plant software company, announced a new partnership to launch a program that will let REC members enroll smart thermostats, batteries, EV chargers, and electric vehicles as tools to support grid reliability.
REC, a member-owned cooperative headquartered in Fredericksburg, serves residential and business customers across 22 counties in Virginia. Rising power supply costs and rapid load growth led REC to seek out programs that shift and manage demand to protect members from higher bills while maintaining grid reliability.
Under the new program, Virtual Peaker will enable REC to enroll, manage, and dispatch devices for demand response events and track their performance. REC’s vision is to integrate device enrollment directly into their existing MyREC SmartHub system so that members can sign up for the program and track incentive delivery in a tool that also manages their REC account. REC will schedule events based on real-time grid conditions and incorporate existing relevant projects.
The program supports REC’s broader CORE Grid strategy, the Cooperative’s vision for a grid that is connected, optimized, resilient, and expandable as it prepares for the state’s evolving energy needs.
“This collaboration represents a significant milestone in empowering REC’s cooperative members to easily enroll their smart devices into programs that directly support grid health and deliver valuable incentives for REC,” said Dr. William Burke, Founder and CEO of Virtual Peaker. “As power costs rise and demand grows across Virginia, giving members a sophisticated way to put their devices to work for the grid is an excellent solution for utilities.”
“The grid of the future will be defined not simply by the assets connected to it, but by how intelligently those assets are coordinated and managed. Our partnership with Virtual Peaker is an important step in advancing REC’s CORE Grid vision by creating a grid that is Connected, Optimized, Resilient, and Expandable. By improving visibility and orchestration across distributed energy resources, demand response, and other assets, we can better manage increasing complexity, strengthen reliability, create greater value for our members, and build a more flexible grid prepared for the evolving energy needs of the communities we serve,” stated Dr. Peter Muhoro, REC’s Chief Strategy, Technology & Innovation Officer.
About Virtual Peaker
Virtual Peaker is a leading virtual power plant software company that empowers utilities to build the grid of the future and meet global decarbonization goals. Through its cutting-edge software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, the company seamlessly integrates distributed energy resource management system (DERMS) components, customer engagement, and load forecasting. Virtual Peaker’s groundbreaking technology, Topline Demand Control, paves the way for the next generation of virtual power plant capabilities. To learn more, please visit www.virtual-peaker.com or connect on LinkedIn.
About Rappahannock Electric Cooperative
Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC) is a member-owned utility providing reliable electric service to residential and business customers across Virginia. REC is dedicated to delivering safe, affordable energy solutions while leading with innovative technology to support its members and local communities.
Amber Mullaney
Virtual Peaker
amullaney@virtual-peaker.com
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