California’s electric grid must remain reliable and resilient while aggressively pursuing carbon neutrality by 2045. This transition presents significant challenges and opportunities, particularly in tackling climate change, managing intermittency, handling curtailment issues associated with renewable energy generation, and addressing the grid impacts of expanding electrification in buildings and transportation. Integration of flexible demand with diverse distributed energy resources through open and secure communication protocols emerges as a pivotal solution. This session aims to outline current challenges, explore potential flexible demand solutions and considerations, and propose strategies for enhancing building resilience while bolstering grid support.