Why is crucial tech vulnerable to the heat?

NEMETH: Shivering in the dark — a ‘virtual power plant’ could decide how much power your home gets this winter

Imagine a bitterly cold, still winter night during a prolonged Dunkelflaute (the German term for “dark doldrums”) when wind turbines stand idle for days, solar output drops near zero, and temperatures plummet. You expect your heat pump and home battery, installed with promises of resilience, to keep your family comfortable and energy secure. Instead, as the calm and cold drags on, your thermostat will not budge, smart devices are curtailed, and your battery drains, not to keep your family safe, but to “help the grid.” A notification flashes on your phone: “Grid Emergency; External Control Activated!” Your household, like thousands aggregated in a Virtual Power Plant (VPP), is conscripted to “stabilize” a system strained by the very energy transition that created the vulnerability. The autonomy you thought you had secured with clean energy investments is suddenly subject to distant commands, precisely when you need it most. This is the engineered reality of Virtual Power Plants.