In a VPP decentralized distributed energy resources (DERs) are aggregated into a portfolio. Customers themselves or their authorized energy management companies – with customer permission and the help of software – can adjust charging, discharging, output, and demand from DERs in response to signals from markets and grid operators. In this way, VPPs can play an important role in efficiently matching energy supply and demand, it’s claimed. The components of a VPP can include electric vehicles (EVs) and chargers, heat pumps, home appliances, HVAC equipment, batteries, plug loads, and industrial mechanical equipment. Single-family homes, multi-family homes, offices, stores, factories, cars, trucks, and buses can all participate in a VPP.