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Latest news on virtual power plants (VPPs), systems that pool together decentralised energy resources, such as electric vehicles or electric heaters controlled by smart thermostats, to ease loads on electricity grids during times of energy shortage. VPPs use advanced software to manage and coordinate the output and consumption of these energy resources, such as switching thousands of households' batteries or reducing the energy consumption of electricity-using devices. They have the potential to greatly reduce peak energy demand, with some estimates suggesting they could reduce U.S. peak demand by 60 GW by 2030 and 200 GW by 2050. Companies such as GM, Ford, Google and solar energy producers have announced partnerships to establish standards for scaling up the use of VPPs and shaping policy to promote their use.