This reminds me of District heating - they do use the benefits of thermal storage and economies of scale to cheaply create and store energy (for heating homes).

This reminds me of District heating - they do use the benefits of thermal storage and economies of scale to cheaply create and store energy (for heating homes). The issue with District heating is that in many places district heating companies are abusive monopolists with awful service. Here it is actually cheaper to warm the water on demand with grid electricity! However, having the technology to allow individual households and businesses to benefit from water heaters as grid storage is very different - this also solves an economic/political issue.