Energy Policy Design Institute
Whitepapers inform policy. Tools implement it.
We take the best energy policy research and turn it into frameworks and tools that state commissions can act on inside a live proceeding, so policy moves in months, not years.
- 15+
States and jurisdictions helping design the Navigator
- 45+
Organizations aligned on one framework
- 5
Major policy issues, including storage, VPPs, EVs
VPP Types
- Storage
- EV Charging
- Smart Thermostats
- Water Heaters
Clean energy policy is decided at the state level. Regulators need tools to act at speed.
State utility commissions are running simultaneous proceedings on urgent energy topics such as energy storage, interconnection, VPPs, and grid resilience, often with a handful of policy staff covering all of it. The research they need exists, spread across dozens of organizations. What doesn't exist is a structured, efficient way to turn the deluge of information into regulatory action on their state's most critical issues.
EPDI works directly inside those proceedings. We bring structured frameworks and tools, co-designed with commission staff, that help small teams navigate complex policy decisions at speed.
VPP Convergence Project
Overcoming policy barriers to large-scale VPP deployment
StatusLaunched October 2025
The first national effort to align everyone around how VPP policy gets implemented.
Regulators, utilities, DER companies, advocates, and researchers working from one shared framework, so state agencies can efficiently collaborate and make evidence-based VPP policy decisions.
- 15+
States and jurisdictions
State agency staff who helped design our VPP tools from day one.
- 45+
Organizations
Utilities, DER companies, advocates, and researchers.
- Steering
Steering committee
NARUC, SEPA, RMI / VP3, Momentum Energy, Rockress Consulting.
Honorary Chair
Jigar Shah, former director of the U.S. DOE Loan Programs Office.
The work
Recent and ongoing projects.
Across state regulatory dockets and national frameworks, working on the specific decisions that move clean energy from policy to deployment.
Maryland Energy Storage Program
Create energy storage market to achieve state deployment target
StatusCompleted
New Hampshire Interconnection Rules
Modernize interconnection rules for distributed energy resources
StatusFull set of draft rules completed ahead of schedule
LDES National Consortium
Develop policy recommendations to commercialize long-duration energy storage
StatusRoadmap outline developed, recommendations under development
NARUC Resilience Framework
Create a framework for developing resilience policies and programs
StatusReport published early 2025, NARUC trainings ongoing
The tool
The VPP Policy Navigator.
Navigate the VPP Policy Map. Start from a use case. See every policy decision that needs to be made. Know exactly where your state stands.
Endorsements
Trusted by the people writing the rules.
"By having EPDI facilitate MESIWG, stakeholders have been able to efficiently make progress with the design process."
"[The EPDI] process will be a best-practice for future regulatory stakeholder processes."
"EPDI delivered under pressure right out of the gate, helping our workgroup achieve tight deadlines with high-quality results."
See how state energy policy actually gets implemented.
A walkthrough of the VPP Policy Map: the framework EPDI uses with state commissions, built into a navigable tool for the first time.