Grid modernization can't wait: why the distribution grid is the real flexibility challenge. October 29, 2026 A utility investor, a climate tech VC and a solar-plus-storage founder explained what it will take to make grids flexible enough for a renewable future. Across Asia-Pacific, electricity demand is rising quickly and distributed solar is spreading fast. In 2024 alone, Pakistan imported 19GW of solar modules, close to half its grid-connected capacity. For utilities and investors in the region, grid modernization is therefore becoming as urgent as building new generation. That challenge took center stage in a panel at Energy Tech Summit. Max Hefti, Investment Manager, Energy at Emerald, moderated the discussion. He was joined by Mariana Costa, Principal of EDP Ventures, Borja Rosales, Principal of Seaya Andromeda, and Omeed Badkoobeh, CEO of Yotta Energy. Grid modernization panel session at ETS 2024, with Mariana Costa, Borja Rosales, and Omeed Badkoobeh. Why grids need to become more flexible. Hefti set the scene. Renewable capacity keeps growing, and most new generation is intermittent. At the same time, demand fluctuates more because of e-mobility and the electrification of heat. Grids, however, were not designed for that level of variability. As a result, they need to become far more flexible to stay resilient. The panel brought three perspectives together. Costa represented both a utility and a corporate investor, since EDP Ventures is the corporate venture arm of the EDP group. Rosales spoke for a financial investor, and Badkoobeh for the solution side. Notably, EDP Ventures is an investor in Yotta Energy. Grid modernization: transmission vs distribution. Costa expects huge challenges on both sides of the grid. On transmission, stakeholders coordinate well. Still, balancing has long relied on dispatchable conventional plants. As coal and gas plants close, the system will need new sources of flexibility. Distribution, in her view, is the bigger struggle. Everyone installs the assets they want and connects them to the grid, often without planning. Consequently, distributed energy resources introduce bidirectional power flows, localized generation, congestion and power quality issues. The core goal, she argued, is to close the gap between the speed of the energy transition and the renewal of the grid itself. Above all, the network must not become the bottleneck. Rosales agreed. Transmission lines were built to carry power from large plants. However, the rise of variable, unpredictable renewables puts growing stress on distribution networks. For that reason, he sees distribution as the area that needs the most help right now. Empty rooftops and rising demand. Badkoobeh framed the problem as a coming shortage of power. He asked the audience who drove an electric vehicle, who planned to get one, and who would consider one with perfect charging infrastructure. By the final question, almost every hand was up. For him, that points to a sharp rise in electricity demand. "You cannot simply build power plants fast enough," he said, even if you wanted to build coal and natural gas plants. Instead, he looks to the empty rooftops visible from any airplane window. Yotta Energy has built a decentralized solar-plus-storage solution that turns those rooftops into dispatchable power. Its low-voltage architecture is designed to be safe, and owners can manage systems remotely, even across continents. In his words, "the future of the grid is decentralized." As a result, "any company that wants to invest in technology can now become a power producer." Closing the grid investment gap. Hefti then raised a striking imbalance. Investment in grids lags well behind investment in renewable generation. The IEA's World Energy Investment 2025 report puts annual grid spending at around $400 billion, against roughly $1 trillion for generation. Rosales sees two timelines for closing that gap. Physical infrastructure is essential for long-term reliability. However, it is capital-intensive and depends on regulatory and policy change, so it moves slowly. Digitalization, by contrast, can move faster. Many grid operators already have modern equipment with sensors, but they struggle to read live data across the network. Better data and analytics would help them make smarter decisions. Rosales estimated that around half of today's curtailment could be avoided, since much of it stems from outdated rules and a lack of live readings. That makes digitalization "a faster and more cost effective solution." Costa added three levers. First, infrastructure investment depends heavily on funding conditions and interest rates. Second, regulation must change, so that market designs value flexibility and reward investment in it. "We are not there yet," she said. Third, new technology has to integrate safely. Interoperability, compatibility and cybersecurity all matter. After all, "DSOs are by nature one of the most conservative and risk averse customers." Crucially, all three levers need to move together in a well-orchestrated way. Badkoobeh agreed. "If utilities and regulators create the incentive structures the market will meet the demand," he said. In his view, much existing infrastructure can already handle bidirectional flows. What's missing are market dynamics that reward people for dispatching their power. Solutions for the near term and the long term. Badkoobeh's priority is what already exists and is easy to adapt. Every empty rooftop could host a dispatchable solar power plant that produces energy more cheaply than new generation. With the right incentives, a building owner such as an auto repair shop could cut its bill and also earn revenue from utility programs. He pointed to Texas, where part of the state is deregulated. There, Tesla set up its own retail electricity provider to create new incentives for battery owners. According to Badkoobeh, "they got tired of waiting for the utilities to do this." Costa took a more holistic view. Existing infrastructure is massive, and "we cannot ignore the existing infrastructure." Retrofitting it is the quick win. Meanwhile, forecasts point to such strong demand growth that new build will also be essential, offering a chance to design a flexible system from scratch. How EDP is putting flexibility into practice. Costa shared several initiatives across EDP. On the hardware side, EDP is testing intelligent power transformers in the field to manage power flows and congestion. Looking further ahead, it is exploring solid-state transformers. On flexibility markets, EDP is working with Piclo, a flexibility marketplace, to run the first local flexibility market with its DSO in Portugal. The EDP Ventures portfolio adds more examples. Splight uses digital twins, monitoring and control to run networks at higher-than-traditional loads. PlexiGrid works with EDP's DSO in Spain to map the low-voltage grid and its constraints. Energyworx supplies EDP's Portuguese DSO with its energy data management platform. That data layer is critical. To act on the low-voltage grid, operators need to process huge volumes of granular, real-time smart meter data. Rosales added solutions across the value chain. These include smart inverters on solar systems to regulate voltage, demand response through virtual power plants, large battery storage and dynamic line rating for transmission operators. He also highlighted peer-to-peer energy trading, which lets consumers trade directly with producers. A call to action. Badkoobeh closed with a story from Texas. On one day shortly before the session, around 80% of the state's power mix came from wind and solar. Critics had once warned that the grid would fail at 50%, yet nothing happened. In his view, "the grid will adapt" - but "we have to build faster deploy more." Costa ended on urgency. "The current existing infrastructure took us around 150 years to put us here," she said. Now the energy transition demands that the grid be redefined in roughly 20 years. Therefore, "all the decisions all the initiatives need to start today." Takeaway. The panel agreed that distribution networks will feel the strain of the energy transition first. Digitalization offers the fastest gains, while physical upgrades remain essential for the long term. Above all, progress depends on coordination. Investment, regulation and technology have to advance together, so that the grid supports clean energy growth instead of holding it back. Secure your pass. Dates for the next Energy Tech Summit Asia are coming soon. In the meantime, join investors, utilities and founders at Energy Tech Summit Europe 2027, the 8th edition, on 7-8 April in Bilbao, Spain. Passes cost €1,399 until 30 November, then €1,599 from 1 December, €1,799 from 1 February 2027 and €1,999 from 1 March 2027. Founders can join with the Founder's Pass for €699. Use code ETS100 for €100 off. * next postcurrencies of the future: how carbon and biodiversity credits can earn market trust. Futurae events, UAB Company code: 306048802 Subaciaus str. 17-2, LT-01300 Vilnius, Lithuania [email protected] +370 622 17 260 Be the first to know about its events, updates & special offers. (C) 2026 Energy Tech Summit.

Verantum and Yotta Energy partner to turn commercial buildings into flexible grid resources. The partnership pairs Verantum's building optimization software with Yotta's unique rooftop storage solution so multi-site operators can lower energy costs and put idle roof space to work. AUSTIN, Texas, & IRVINE, Calif.-(BUSINESS WIRE)-Verantum and Yotta Energy today announced a strategic partnership to deliver virtual power plant (VPP) solutions for multi-site commercial operators across North America. Verantum's platform serves multi-site commercial building operators and currently manages over 42,000 buildings in every major utility service territory. Yotta Energy develops and manufactures the Yotta Block, the only energy storage product that is installed on the roof with the solar array. Verantum and Yotta Energy aim to enroll 5 GW of VPP capacity across North American commercial buildings, enough to power nearly 4 million homes. Share The partnership arrives as utilities recover a historic grid buildout through transmission and distribution charges. U.S. average commercial electricity prices have risen roughly 30% since 2019, according to the EIA, and peak demand charges, which can make up 30% to 70% of a commercial bill, have become one of the hardest costs for multi-site operators to predict or control. That cost risk is making flexible distributed energy resources (DERs) more attractive, provided they can scale across an entire portfolio. Grocery chains, retailers, and other multi-site commercial operators manage thousands of energy-intensive assets, yet solar plus storage has been slow to reach their portfolios. A primary barrier is that traditional storage requires site-by-site engineering and dedicated ground space, so a rollout across hundreds of locations becomes hundreds of separate projects. That cost and complexity has kept most portfolio-wide deployments from penciling out. The partnership attacks the problem from both directions: the building's load and the storage itself. Verantum already dynamically optimizes the equipment that uses the most power in these buildings, including HVAC and refrigeration, to reduce both energy consumption (kWh) and demand (kW), essentially creating a virtual battery from the building's existing load flexibility. Yotta's batteries install on the roof as part of the solar system, the same way at every site. Together, the two solutions let buildings shift when they use power and supply stored energy when the grid needs it, without compromising occupant comfort or refrigerated goods. For operators, the combined solution can easily shift more than 70% of utility consumption to on-site generation, with consistent simple paybacks of under five years, or flexible PPA and loan options that deliver 15% to 20% lower costs from day one. It also lowers carbon emissions and improves operational resilience while maintaining the comfort, reliability, and performance those facilities require. Where local grid programs allow, the partnership opens a new source of revenue, since utilities and grid operators pay for capacity that can respond on demand. Additionally, Verantum's condition-based maintenance solution helps ensure that the equipment behind that flexibility performs as expected. "Our customers rely on Verantum not only to maintain comfort and protect critical systems, from the sales floor to the cold case, but also to continuously optimize their HVAC-R assets to reduce energy expense," said Ryan Adelman, CEO of Verantum. "Partnering with Yotta is the logical next step, giving customers relief from rising utility costs while providing flexibility to the grid. Combining our zero-capex demand management capabilities with a best-in-class behind-the-meter energy storage system delivers superior economics and a scalable model for multi-site operators." "Commercial operators have wanted storage for years, but adding it usually turns every site into a construction project," said Jordan Harris, CEO of Yotta Energy. "Our solution deploys with the solar array and streamlines every aspect of the project. Together with Verantum, we generate, store, and optimize electricity at the point of demand, and all our customers will see is the savings." The companies will begin with pilot deployments at a small number of existing Verantum customer sites, with installations planned for early 2027. Their long-term goal is 5 GW of enrolled VPP capacity across North American commercial buildings, enough to power nearly 4 million homes. About the Companies About Verantum Verantum (formerly Phoenix Energy Technologies) establishes sustained performance across energy-intensive assets and complex commercial portfolios. The company unifies HVAC, refrigeration, lighting, and building automation systems into a closed-loop framework of Collect. Analyze. Act. Performance issues are identified early, prioritized by operational and financial impact, executed through coordinated workflows and services, and measured to ensure results hold over time. Trusted by organizations managing more than 42,000 buildings across North America, Verantum helps reduce operational risk, extend equipment life, and ensure performance holds across portfolios, seasons, and years. Learn more at verantum.com. Building performance, delivered. About Yotta Energy Yotta Energy makes the Yotta Block, the battery that installs where the ballast on a commercial solar roof already sits. Storage goes up with the panels: no cabinets, no lost ground space, no added construction. It is certified to UL 9540 and UL 9540A, built in Austin, Texas, and proven on commercial roofs since 2021. Learn more at yottaenergy.com. Contacts. Media Contacts Yotta Energy: Nicole Clark, [email protected], (512) 500-0607 Verantum: Media Relations Team, [email protected], (877) 340-8855 Yotta Energy. Release Versions Media Contacts Yotta Energy: Nicole Clark, [email protected], (512) 500-0607 Verantum: Media Relations Team, [email protected], (877) 340-8855