VPP guide

How home battery VPPs work in Australia

What a virtual power plant is, how it pays your home, and why some batteries are on more VPPs than others — in plain English, from official sources.
What is a VPP How it works for your home How batteries get approved Official resources

What is a virtual power plant?

A virtual power plant (VPP) is a network of home batteries, linked by software, that an energy company can call on together — like one large power station, except it's made of thousands of ordinary homes.

When the grid is under pressure (usually the late-afternoon and evening peak), the operator draws a small slice of stored energy from each connected battery at once. You're paid for that energy, and you keep a backup reserve.

Your rooftop solar charges the battery for free during the day.
Smart software aggregates thousands of batteries into one flexible resource.
You earn credits or payments when it dispatches at peak.
Homes with solar + batteries connect through VPP software to the grid Home · solar · battery Home · solar · battery Home · solar · battery THOUSANDS OF HOMES VPP PLATFORM smart orchestration software Grid & energy market 1 · Charge from solar 2 · Dispatch at peak $ You get paid + keep reserve

How it works for your home

By day your battery fills from solar; at peak the operator borrows a slice and pays you — while you keep a reserve. The same battery, working a second job.
Energy flows from rooftop solar into a home battery and out to the city grid at dusk

1 · Your battery charges

From your rooftop solar by day, or cheap off-peak power overnight.

2 · A grid event happens

At a peak the operator dispatches a slice of your stored energy — events are short (1–4 hrs) and infrequent.

3 · You're rewarded

Bill credits, a per-kWh payment, or wholesale value — and you keep a minimum reserve.

You set a minimum reserve, so the operator only ever uses part of your battery and you keep backup power for your home.

What you need to join: a compatible home battery, a reliable internet connection, and — for most plans — to be on the operator's electricity plan. This site covers residential VPPs only (not commercial or grid-scale programs).

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How a battery gets approved for a VPP

Almost any rebate-eligible battery is already "VPP-capable" in hardware. Whether it shows on a given retailer's list depends on integration work — not on the battery's quality.
The key point: if your battery isn't on a VPP yet, it usually means the manufacturer's integration with that retailer simply isn't finished — not that the product is poor.
1

Meet the standards

Inverter certified to AS/NZS 4777.2, battery on the CEC list, VPP-capable firmware, network export rules met.

2

Integrate the platform

Each retailer runs its VPP on an orchestration platform (Evergen, GreenSync, SwitchDin…). The brand must connect to it.

3

Pass live testing

The brand runs a cohort of real homes through a monitored trial before general release.

4

Get listed

The retailer adds the brand to its published compatibility list.

Where the DNSP comes in

Your DNSP (the company that owns the poles and wires) approves the grid connection and sets how much you can export — separate from your retailer and the VPP. Many now require flexible (dynamic) exports, where the network adjusts your export limit in real time. Their rules differ by region, which is one reason VPP behaviour varies across Australia.

We only mark a battery "connected" when the operator officially says so — otherwise it's shown as "pending", neutrally. Check your battery →

DNSP by region
SA SA Power Networks · Flexible Exports
VIC CitiPower, Powercor, AusNet, Jemena, United Energy
NSW Ausgrid, Endeavour, Essential Energy
QLD Energex, Ergon · dynamic connections
WA Western Power (SWIS) + Horizon (regional)
TAS·ACT·NT TasNetworks · Evoenergy · Power & Water

Official resources

Go straight to the authoritative sources to verify anything on this site.
Cheaper Home Batteries Program — federal rebate (DCCEEW) Clean Energy Council — approved battery list Energy Made Easy (AER) — compare plans (NSW, QLD, SA, ACT, TAS) Victorian Energy Compare — compare plans (VIC)
Find VPPs for your battery → Compare every plan →