Unlocking Hidden Revenue: How Facilities Teams Can Win With Demand Response in 2026

Facilities teams are being asked to do more with less. You are managing aging assets, rising energy costs, and ambitious sustainability goals, often with lean staff and tight capital budgets.

Demand response is one of the few tools that can support all three: it improves grid resiliency, reduces peak energy costs, and creates a new revenue stream from assets you already own.

In 2026, that opportunity is growing, but so is the urgency. Enrollment deadlines for many programs begin as early as January and February, with most summer programs closing in March and April. If your meters are not enrolled by those dates, your sites simply miss out on the value for the season.

Phoenix Energy Technologies helps multi-site retailers and grocers turn this complexity into a straightforward, automated program.

What Is Demand Response and Why Does It Matter?

During periods of high demand on the grid, system operators and utilities can pay large energy users to temporarily reduce or shift load. Instead of resorting to expensive backup generation on the grid, operators trigger a demand response (DR) event.

Participants receive financial incentives in return for making short, controlled adjustments such as:

• Slightly increasing cooling setpoints for a defined period
• Reducing noncritical lighting or HVAC schedules
• Moving certain loads out of the highest cost hours

Across a large portfolio, these small changes add up. When combined with other participants, they form a virtual power plant (VPP) that helps keep the grid balanced and the lights on.

For retailers and grocers, that means:

• New recurring revenue for every enrolled kilowatt of flexible load
• Lower exposure to peak prices and demand charges
• Tangible progress toward sustainability and carbon goals
• Stronger grid resiliency for the communities you serve

 How Phoenix Simplifies DR for Multi-Site Portfolios

Many facilities teams are already juggling multiple service providers, platforms, and programs. It is common to have:

• One vendor for your controls
• Another for analytics
• One or more aggregators for demand response

This fragmentation makes it hard to know where your capacity really is, which meters are enrolled where, and whether you are getting the full value you should.

Phoenix Energy Technologies changes that dynamic.

1. Consolidated Services and Fewer Contracts

Switching to Phoenix as your core platform for building data and controls lets you consolidate energy services in one place. Demand response becomes part of an integrated strategy rather than a separate one-off program.

You get:

• Fewer vendors to manage
• Less contract and data friction
• A single view of how your portfolio is participating in grid programs

2. Deep Building Knowledge That Protects Comfort

Phoenix already knows how your buildings behave across HVAC, refrigeration, and lighting. That means we can design site specific DR strategies that are realistic for your operations.

Our focus is:

• Maintaining occupant comfort and product integrity
• Building event strategies that match your operating hours and store formats
• Using analytics and historical data to avoid disruptive sequences

Demand response should operate as a precise, well-managed adjustment rather than a disruptive change that affects stores or staff.

3. Market Access and Program Enrollment

Phoenix provides one unified pathway into the nation’s major demand response and grid services programs. You no longer have to juggle multiple aggregators, research program specifics, or manage separate ISO and utility relationships. Phoenix handles eligibility, enrollment, dispatch, and program routing behind the scenes, ensuring each site participates in the most advantageous programs for your revenue, risk, operational continuity, and comfort goals.

We streamline participation across all major U.S. markets and guide you through upcoming 2026 enrollment deadlines. When you need program-level detail for planning or compliance, we provide clear guidance on opportunities in California, the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Texas so your capacity is always aligned to the right revenue streams.

 The Clock Is Ticking: 2026 Enrollment Deadlines

“As power demand accelerates from data center growth and the electrification of transportation, we expect electricity costs to rise dramatically across North America. At the same time, continued renewable energy development is increasing the need for grid flexibility and elevating the value of strategic load curtailment. We are perfecting the science of helping multi-site commercial building operators monetize their flexibility at scale. Now is the time to build your 2026 curtailment strategy,” said Ryan Adelman, CEO of Phoenix Energy Technologies.

Demand response is not like a standard rebate where you can apply whenever it is convenient. Most programs only accept new participants during fixed seasonal enrollment windows, often four times per year. To maximize revenue potential, customers need to meet these deadlines, some of which start as early as January.

Across key U.S. markets, winter and early spring cutoffs determine how much summer revenue you can capture. In California, enrollment is effectively rolling, with initial deadlines in April and additional opportunities each month, but enrolling earlier in the cycle increases the share of the season you can monetize.

If your meters are not on the platform and registered by these dates, they cannot participate that season. There is often no option to add new meters midstream.

This is why Phoenix is working with customers now to:

1. Map existing DR participation
2. Identify uncovered capacity and markets
3. Build a coordinated 2026 enrollment plan

Three Simple Steps to Unlock DR Value

Phoenix makes it straightforward for facilities teams:

1. Connect your buildings
   We integrate your building energy assets into eligible grid services programs. Your sites are onboarded to the Phoenix platform and connected to the relevant markets.
   
2. Respond automatically to grid events
   During DR events, your smart energy devices automatically make small, pre-defined reductions in load based on strategies we design together. You maintain visibility and control, and comfort remains a priority.
3. Earn revenue and reduce costs
   You receive recurring incentives for your enrolled capacity, along with better control of demand charges and peak usage. 

What Facilities and Energy Leaders Should Do Next

If you manage facilities or energy for a multi-site retail or grocery portfolio, now is the time to:

• Confirm where you are currently participating in DR
• Quantify the revenue and savings you may be missing
• Decide where you want more control, better customer experience, and a consolidated provider model

Phoenix Energy Technologies can help you move from ad hoc DR participation to a portfolio level strategy that aligns with your comfort, cost, and sustainability goals.

Ready to explore your 2026 DR opportunity?

Visit PhoenixET.com, contact your Phoenix account team, or email info@phoenixet.com

Learn More!