Tesla invites Powerwall owners from Texas to sign up for its new retail electric provider service, which is designed to reduce energy costs.
This week, Tesla launched a Texas-based power utility provider service that allows locals who have home Powerwall backup batteries to sell their excess energy back into the grid. Residents must be in an area that allows for retail choice. Tesla’s website mentions Houston and Dallas as examples. For now, they will have to wait to receive an invitation through the Tesla app.
The new Tesla Electric service allows you to join and sell energy from your Powerwalls to the grid. Tesla also offers offsets for energy pulled from the grid by renewable energy sources.
This is happening as Texas struggles to recover from a heatwave in the summer and deals with crypto mining expansions that led to Texas breaking its peak electricity demand record of over 78 gigawatts. In July, the state’s grid operator Electric Reliability Council of Texas asked residents to conserve electricity. Tesla responded by sending notifications to Tesla owners in Texas to prevent charging during peak hours. ERCOT’s board approved in October a pilot project that allowed Tesla the freedom to continue with its VPP.
The latest development by Tesla Electric in Texas is part of the company’s ongoing quest to build virtual power plants (VPPs) including the 250-megawatt Australian one built in 2018. Tesla also built a plant in Japan in 2021. It is currently powering more than 300 Powerwalls on Miyako-jima.
Tesla’s partnership with California’s utility company PG&E is a recent venture to create a virtual power plant. This deal will allow Tesla to draw power from Powerwall owners during times of major energy shortages or emergency. The Powerwall owners who opt in would help to prevent power outages within their communities and would also receive $2 per kilowatt-hour used during these events.
Texas has become a hotspot for Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk. Elon Musk moved his company’s headquarters from Fremont in California to Austin last summer. SpaceX has its “Starbase”, located in Boca Chica. Tesla also constructed a $1.1 billion Gigafactory, which is where it builds Model Y vehicles. It also plans to make Cybertrucks. Texans can’t purchase the cars directly because of outdated laws favoring dealerships.
