Uplight's Expansion in Distributed Energy Resources Supported by Major Investment
A new investment in clean energy software provider Uplight highlights growing industry efforts to tap customer-owned energy resources as U.S. power demand rises.
Under a definitive agreement, Octopus Energy Group will acquire a majority stake in Uplight, while existing investor Schneider Electric will retain a significant minority position. Financial terms were not disclosed, and the deal is subject to regulatory approvals.
Uplight will continue to operate independently, focusing on software that enables utilities to manage electricity demand by coordinating devices in homes and businesses—such as smart thermostats, electric vehicles and other distributed energy resources.
Uplight’s platform is designed to aggregate customer-based resources into what utilities can treat as reliable capacity. The company says it currently manages about 8.5 gigawatts of flexible load across more than 85 utility clients and dozens of partners.
Octopus Energy, which serves more than 11 million customers globally, brings experience in customer engagement and participation in energy programs. Schneider Electric, meanwhile, is expected to continue contributing expertise in grid operations, automation and distributed energy resource management systems.
The partnership will focus on expanding software capabilities that improve customer participation and translate it into predictable grid services. Planned developments include enhanced analytics, expanded program integration across devices and rate structures, and tools to better dispatch demand-side resources in response to real-time grid conditions.
The deal also opens the door for potential collaboration between Uplight and Kraken, a utility operating platform originally developed by Octopus Energy, particularly in areas such as customer operations and flexibility orchestration.
Uplight said its programs delivered more than $65 million in customer savings and incentives in 2025, underscoring the growing role of customer participation in energy markets