Octopus Energy Group is acquiring a majority stake in Uplight, in partnership with Schneider Electric, to accelerate the development of flexible, digitalized power grids across North America.
The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals and expected to close later this year, brings together Octopus Energy’s expertise in demand-side flexibility, Uplight’s established relationships with U.S. utilities, and Schneider Electric’s advanced grid management technologies.
Uplight currently serves more than 85 utilities across North America, including eight of the ten largest in the U.S., and manages over 8.5 gigawatts of flexible load capacity. Its platform enables utilities to deploy demand response, distributed energy resource management, and customer engagement solutions at scale.
The investment comes as utilities face rapidly increasing electricity demand driven by AI-powered data centers, electrification of transportation and heating, and the growth of distributed energy resources. Rather than relying solely on traditional infrastructure expansion, the combined platform aims to unlock flexible capacity by enabling households and businesses to actively participate in managing energy usage.
Octopus Energy operates one of the world’s largest virtual power plants and brings experience managing hundreds of thousands of connected devices, including electric vehicles. Through this partnership, the company plans to extend its flexibility capabilities into the U.S. market at scale.
The collaboration will also integrate Schneider Electric’s advanced distribution management systems and its OneDERMS platform, helping utilities connect customer-side flexibility directly with grid operations. In addition, Octopus’s Kraken technology platform is expected to explore collaboration with Uplight to enhance customer operations and flexibility orchestration.
Together, the companies aim to provide utilities with tools to improve grid resilience, reduce costs, and support a more reliable and affordable energy system amid rising demand.
KEY QUOTES
“As energy demand surges in the U.S., utilities need the tools to deliver reliable and affordable power for their customers. This partnership brings together Octopus’s world-leading expertise in flexibility, Schneider Electric’s grid intelligence and Uplight’s deep relationships with leading U.S. utilities to turn customer participation into dependable grid capacity. Together, we can help accelerate the shift to a smarter, more resilient and more affordable energy system.”
Nick Chaset, CEO Of Octopus Energy US
“Our continued commitment to Uplight reflects a shared focus on connecting customer programs more directly to grid operations. Uplight’s platform will help transform distributed energy resources into reliable, market-ready capacity, and we will support their mission to make energy more flexible, clean and affordable.”
Frédéric Godemel, Executive Vice President, Energy Management At Schneider Electric
“Uplight has always been committed to unlocking grid capacity by empowering the energy consumer. With the strategic backing of Octopus Energy and Schneider Electric, Uplight is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between customer participation and grid operations. Together, we are proving that distributed energy resources, when managed with precision and scale, can perform as the reliable, utility-scale capacity needed to ensure a resilient and affordable energy future.”
Luis D’Acosta, Chief Executive Officer Of Uplight
