Funding & Partnership
Policy infrastructure for the energy transition.
EPDI works alongside state regulators to turn clean energy laws into working programs, through direct engagements and through the VPP Convergence Project. This page is for the funders, foundations, and partners considering supporting that work: what we're raising for 2027, how progress is measured, and how to start a conversation.
The case
01 — Leverage
The decisions happen at the state level.
Federal climate policy is receding. The decisions that determine whether US energy systems actually decarbonize are happening at state Public Utility Commissions — under-resourced, under-staffed, and facing the most consequential regulatory questions in a generation.
02 — The gap
Laws pass. Implementation stalls.
States keep passing ambitious energy legislation. Progress stalls in what comes after: the regulatory processes where laws become programs, rules and energy rates. The regulatory proceedings that close the gaps are where the fewest resources are — and where targeted support accelerates better outcomes.
03 — Measurement
Policy progress can be observable.
Policy work is where funder dollars often disappear from view. After a law passes, it's hard to measure the impact of additional funding. It doesn't have to be this way: EPDI's Policy Readiness Levels (PRL) framework makes policy progress observable. States move through defined stages, and funders see what their support advanced, by state and by policy topic.
Validation
Built alongside state regulators.
Three state engagements, two national frameworks, and a national alignment effort, all produced by a small team working well beyond its resource base.
Virginia DER Task Force
A long-term VPP vision and a detailed policy action plan for the DER Task Force, built on the VPP Policy Framework.
Read moreCompleteMaryland Energy Storage Program
A storage program designed with PSC Staff to meet the state’s target equitably and cost-effectively.
Read moreCompleteNew Hampshire Interconnection Rules
A full set of draft interconnection rules, completed ahead of schedule.
Read moreActiveNARUC Resilience Framework
A shared vocabulary for resilience policy, in active use through ongoing trainings.
Read moreActiveLDES National Consortium
Initial LDES commercialization policy recommendations submitted to DOE in May 2025.
Read moreActiveVPP Convergence Project
45+ organizations building a shared framework for VPP policy, with Jigar Shah as Honorary Chair.
Read moreThe ask
2027: from Framework to states.
EPDI is raising 2027 funding to open direct engagements with ten or more partner states and finish the VPP Policy Framework that engagements are built on. There are two ways in: fund a state, or fund the work behind all of them.
Each engagement sets a Policy Readiness Level target with the state and builds the state's own way of tracking what is moving, so agencies can report progress to their legislature and funders see what their support advanced.
Targeted engagements in the highest priority states, or anchor support for the shared layer behind all of them. Both are described below.
Targeted outcomes
Fund a state engagement.
EPDI works alongside a commission, task force, or energy office to help implement laws, turning signed legislation into programs, rates, and rules. Each engagement starts with scoping the policy work to be done across all relevant proceedings using the shared VPP Policy Framework. Deliverables include policy roadmaps and detailed policy action plans the state can act on. 25% of the funding for each engagement goes back into the shared Framework and the tools built on it, so what one state learns becomes the next state's starting point.
Integrated Picture
A full map of the state's policy landscape relevant to VPPs: how its proceedings fit together and which policy topics matter most.
Readiness Assessment
Where the state stands on VPP policy, topic by topic, against the Framework.
Action Plan
A long-term vision and prioritized policy actions, developed with state agencies and stakeholders.
Ongoing Support
Drafted frameworks, tariffs, and rules submitted into an active docket, on its schedule.
Topic-specific engagements, such as a FERC Order 2222 roadmap or a large-load VPP roadmap, are also available. Scope, timeline, and pricing are worked out with the state and the funder.
Discuss an engagementHow we operate
What funding builds.
Funding at this stage builds the staff, infrastructure, and sustained capacity the work has earned but doesn’t yet have. General operating support does that most directly, which makes it the most valuable structure for anchor partners. EPDI also welcomes project grants, submitting letters of inquiry and full proposals on standard timelines, and gifts from individuals and donor-advised funds.
EPDI is fiscally sponsored by Natural Capitalism Solutions, a 501(c)(3), so contributions are tax-deductible. The work is led by Ted Ko, Executive Director, with expert groups on wholesale markets, large loads, utility programs, and regulatory roadmaps, and a team of regulatory policy experts, technical writers, product designers, and researchers.
Get in touch
Start a conversation.
Direct outreach to Ted Ko, Executive Director. Most funder conversations begin with a 30-minute call: what you'd want to know, what we're building, where there's fit. We're building 2027 commitments now.