Torus today announced it was named a finalist for the 2026 Awards of Excellence, presented by PLMA, The Flexible Load Management Community. As the premier industry association shaping the future of demand-side energy management, PLMA brings together the utilities, technology innovators, and practitioners defining how the modern grid will operate.
The recognition highlights Torus’s mesh energy infrastructure for grid reliability as one of the most innovative and impactful load flexibility initiatives of the past year.
Flexible load is electricity demand that can be shifted, reduced, or increased in response to real-time grid conditions, helping utilities balance supply and demand and integrate renewable energy.
PLMA’s Awards of Excellence are presented annually to recognize utility companies and their industry partners across the country who have demonstrated exceptional innovation, leadership, and dedication to advancing flexible load management. Five finalists were selected from among 22 nominations by a panel of 19 volunteer judges and four Committee Co-Chairs, all active PLMA member practitioners.
“To qualify as an Awards of Excellence finalist or winner, a nominee’s load flexibility initiative must demonstrate measurable impact on the reliability, performance, and sustainability of energy systems,” said Michael Ohlsen, PLMA Awards Co-Chair and representative of City of Tallahassee Utilities. “These awards recognize organizations that are setting new standards for innovation and excellence in flexible energy load management.”
Torus was selected for its work supporting PacifiCorp’s grid through Rocky Mountain Power’s Wattsmart Battery program. Throughout 2025, Torus systems answered 359 virtual power plant events, delivered 102% of contracted target power on dispatch, and ramped to full output in 19 seconds with 99.9% reliability. The performance helped PacifiCorp expand its Memorandum of Understanding with Torus from 70 MW to 500 MW in September 2025.
“We’re honored to be recognized by PLMA, the premier industry association shaping the future of demand-side energy management,” said Nate Walkingshaw, co-founder and CEO of Torus. “As electricity demand accelerates, utilities need infrastructure that can improve reliability, integrate distributed energy resources, and respond dynamically to changing grid conditions. This recognition reflects the work our team is doing to help build that future.”
Torus was recognized alongside other leading organizations including Xcel Energy, Renew Home, Tesla, Con Edison, Itron, and The Mobility House.
PLMA will host a series of educational webinars from June through November 2026 in which finalist and award-winning teams share lessons learned and challenges solved. The webinar series will also be published on PLMA’s YouTube channel and its Load Management Dialogues podcast. The full schedule will be available on PLMA’s Calendar at flexload.org.
About Torus
Torus designs, engineers, and manufactures distributed mesh energy infrastructure that delivers reliable power, reduces costs, improves resilience, and supports surging demand fueled by electrification and AI-driven load growth. Its full-stack technology integrates battery and inertial-based storage, AI-powered management, cybersecurity, and long-term operations and maintenance for utilities, data centers, manufacturers, and commercial and industrial facilities. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Torus earned a TIME Best Invention of 2024 award for Torus Spin and a 2025 R&D 100 Award for innovation. Learn more at torus.co.
About PLMA: The Flexible Load Management Community
PLMA serves the energy industry as the leading association for load management experts, practitioners, and vendors to share best practices, hands-on experiences, technology advances and training, plus leadership and mentorship opportunities, all with a focus on DR, DERs, and managed charging. Learn more at flexload.org.
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