Agriculture Meets Grid
Irrigation is one of the most energy-intensive activities in agriculture. In many U.S. states, pumping water for irrigation accounts for 30–50% of on-farm electricity consumption. When thousands of pumps run simultaneously during peak hours, the strain on distribution networks and wholesale markets is significant.
Yet those same pumps also represent one of the most reliable, dispatchable, and cost-effective demand response resources available to utilities. Irrigation load control (ILC) is fast becoming a cornerstone of flexible grid management.
CE's 2025 Results: Reliability at Scale
In 2025, Connected Energy partnered with utilities across the West to run 32 irrigation load control events. The results were unequivocal:
- 100% success rate in event execution.
- High customer participation thanks to program design that balanced grower operations with utility needs.
This track record proves irrigation load control is a grid resource on par with traditional generation, delivered with precision and reliability.
Why Irrigation Load Control Works
- Scalability: Agricultural regions can host tens of thousands of pumps, each contributing significant kilowatts of flexible load.
- Dispatch Speed: Pumps can be shut off or ramped down in minutes, providing near-real-time grid relief.
- Cost Efficiency: ILC avoids capital-intensive upgrades and delivers flexibility at a fraction of the cost of new generation.
- Customer Alignment: Growers benefit from incentives while still meeting their irrigation schedules.
Connected Energy’s Platform Advantage
Connected Energy’s DERMS platform ensures irrigation events are:
- Accurately forecasted using grid-edge measurements and localized weather forecasts.
- Executed seamlessly with direct pump control and automated dispatch.
- Verified instantly with measurement and performance reporting utilities can trust.
By combining agricultural know-how with grid-grade technology, CE has transformed irrigation into a reliable and flexibility resource for load shaping and shifting, reducing generation and grid costs.
Looking Ahead
As utilities confront rising peaks, irrigation load control stands out as a low-cost, high-reliability solution. CE’s 2025 track record enable utilities to use this resource internally to manage grid resources and externally to participate in energy markets.
Connected Energy believes irrigation load control will remain a pillar of flexible capacity, complementing EV charging, distributed storage, and other DERs in building a flexible, resilient, decarbonized grid.
About Connected Energy
Connected Energy provides advanced DERMS solutions that help utilities and grid operators integrate distributed resources, ranging from irrigation pumps to EVs into reliable, flexible, and decarbonized energy systems.
