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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Electric utilities across the U.S. are undergrounding power lines and stepping up tree trimming to improve electric reliability and resilience, following wildfires, hurricanes, flooding, ice storms and other natural disasters. But these programs can be expensive: Pacific Gas and Electric Company (San Francisco, California), a unit of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) (San Francisco), plans to spend billions of dollars to bury power lines in a portion of its service area. For more on that, see November 20, 2023, article - PG&E Digs into $4.7 Billion of Underground Line Projects.
Green Mountain Power (GMP) (Colchester, Vermont) is taking a different approach: It is giving customers the option to lease a Tesla Powerwall battery, or provide a rebate when customers purchase a battery energy-storage system (BESS) of their choice, as part of its effort to improve electric reliability and resilience.
The electric utility, which serves about 270,000 customers in Vermont, has established itself as an innovative utility: It won accolades from Time magazine, Fast Company magazine and the Smart Electric Power Association (Washington, D.C.). Its power supply is 100% carbon free and 80% renewable. And its leaders don't want to lessen the traditional utility costs of rebuilding or repairing its electric system after severe weather.
In 2020, it won regulatory approval from the Vermont Public Utility Commission (VPUC) (Montpelier, Vermont) to offer two battery programs to customers: Lease two Tesla Powerwall batteries for $55 per month (or purchase them outright for $5,500), or receive a rebate for up to $10,500 after purchasing a battery system of their choice. Each program initially was limited to 500 customers, or 5 megawatts (MW) of storage, per year. Customers are required to share energy during peak times by putting it back onto the grid. Batteries in either program were required to be installed by solar companies selected by the customer.
In making its case to Vermont utility regulators, GMP officials said that offering customers these battery options was more cost-effective than paying to repair its electric system after severe storms or undergrounding its electric lines. It also said that buying wholesale power during peak times can be expensive, and that power procured during peak periods likely will be carbon-intensive, meaning it could be generated by fossil fueled power plants. That would go against the utility's commitment to shrink its carbon footprint. The battery program, GMP argued, would save customers money and keep carbon out of the atmosphere.
The program was popular: Earlier this year, the utility reported that the Powerwall program was full into 2026 and that 1,200 customers were on the wait list for that program.
Then Vermont experienced historic flooding in the spring of 2023. Three hundred more customers joined the Powerwall waitlist in the months that followed.
Given the program's popularity, and three devastating storms in less than 12 months, the utility's leaders in April 2023 asked the VPUC to lift the enrollment caps on the battery programs. In August, the VPUC agreed. In its decision, the regulators cited growing customer demand for home batteries, the likelihood of more extreme weather in the future, and the fact that the home battery programs benefited all GMP customers.
"Accelerating storm resiliency is our path forward, especially after what Vermonters have gone through this year," said Mari McClure, GMP president and chief executive, in an August statement following the VPUC's decision. "We're pleased we can expand access allowing more customers to enroll in these programs which have a proven track record of keeping customers powered up through extremely tough conditions. This is just one aspect of the multi-layered resiliency work we have been doing across our system since launching our Climate Plan three years ago, building out initiatives to help Vermont communities stay connected."
In its media statements, GMP highlighted customer's enthusiasm about the programs. Candace Nattie, a GMP customer from Norwich, welcomed the VPUC's August decision. She joined the waitlist for the Powerwall program after heavy, wet snow tore down trees and poles across Vermont in December 2022. She had a few days without power while her neighbors, already in the Powerwall program, stayed powered up.
"This is a relief, to have the ability to have power and stay at home safely in severe weather, and the severe storms keep happening here and around the world," Nattie said. "It is a real sense of security and comfort to have power, water and heat."
Though the battery program is popular, GMP is not a one-trick-pony. Expanding access to home batteries is just one part of the utility's resiliency work. It also is undergrounding lines and using storm-hardening line construction techniques to keep communities powered up by preventing outages before they happen.
The company expects to invest an estimated $1.5 billion over the next seven years to strengthen its grid and buy batteries, according to a report in The New York Times. GMP said the investment was justified by the growing sum it had to spend on storm recovery and to trim and remove trees around its power lines.
Efforts to obtain additional details from the utility were unsuccessful. GMP is a participant in three power plant projects with a total investment value (TIV) of about $62 million, according to Industrial Info's Global Marketing Intelligence (GMI) platform. Subscribers can click here for a list of detailed project reports, and click here for a full list of plant profiles for facilities with GMP ownership.
As of the VPUC's August decision, GMP said about 2,900 customers have installed more than 4,800 batteries in their homes. During energy peaks, the utility networks stored energy together, along with utility-scale batteries and devices like car chargers, into a virtual power plant of about 50 MW of stored energy. Combined, this growing stored energy network has saved GMP customers up to $3 million a year for the last few years.
GMP's battery program is believed to be the largest energy-storage option offered by a utility in the country.
"This program is very popular with our customers, and it's been great for our business," said Victoria Roberts, a founder of Southern Vermont Solar. "We are so excited to see this program expand so more Vermonters can take part in it."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
Green Mountain Power (GMP) (Colchester, Vermont) is taking a different approach: It is giving customers the option to lease a Tesla Powerwall battery, or provide a rebate when customers purchase a battery energy-storage system (BESS) of their choice, as part of its effort to improve electric reliability and resilience.
The electric utility, which serves about 270,000 customers in Vermont, has established itself as an innovative utility: It won accolades from Time magazine, Fast Company magazine and the Smart Electric Power Association (Washington, D.C.). Its power supply is 100% carbon free and 80% renewable. And its leaders don't want to lessen the traditional utility costs of rebuilding or repairing its electric system after severe weather.
In 2020, it won regulatory approval from the Vermont Public Utility Commission (VPUC) (Montpelier, Vermont) to offer two battery programs to customers: Lease two Tesla Powerwall batteries for $55 per month (or purchase them outright for $5,500), or receive a rebate for up to $10,500 after purchasing a battery system of their choice. Each program initially was limited to 500 customers, or 5 megawatts (MW) of storage, per year. Customers are required to share energy during peak times by putting it back onto the grid. Batteries in either program were required to be installed by solar companies selected by the customer.
In making its case to Vermont utility regulators, GMP officials said that offering customers these battery options was more cost-effective than paying to repair its electric system after severe storms or undergrounding its electric lines. It also said that buying wholesale power during peak times can be expensive, and that power procured during peak periods likely will be carbon-intensive, meaning it could be generated by fossil fueled power plants. That would go against the utility's commitment to shrink its carbon footprint. The battery program, GMP argued, would save customers money and keep carbon out of the atmosphere.
The program was popular: Earlier this year, the utility reported that the Powerwall program was full into 2026 and that 1,200 customers were on the wait list for that program.
Then Vermont experienced historic flooding in the spring of 2023. Three hundred more customers joined the Powerwall waitlist in the months that followed.
Given the program's popularity, and three devastating storms in less than 12 months, the utility's leaders in April 2023 asked the VPUC to lift the enrollment caps on the battery programs. In August, the VPUC agreed. In its decision, the regulators cited growing customer demand for home batteries, the likelihood of more extreme weather in the future, and the fact that the home battery programs benefited all GMP customers.
"Accelerating storm resiliency is our path forward, especially after what Vermonters have gone through this year," said Mari McClure, GMP president and chief executive, in an August statement following the VPUC's decision. "We're pleased we can expand access allowing more customers to enroll in these programs which have a proven track record of keeping customers powered up through extremely tough conditions. This is just one aspect of the multi-layered resiliency work we have been doing across our system since launching our Climate Plan three years ago, building out initiatives to help Vermont communities stay connected."
In its media statements, GMP highlighted customer's enthusiasm about the programs. Candace Nattie, a GMP customer from Norwich, welcomed the VPUC's August decision. She joined the waitlist for the Powerwall program after heavy, wet snow tore down trees and poles across Vermont in December 2022. She had a few days without power while her neighbors, already in the Powerwall program, stayed powered up.
"This is a relief, to have the ability to have power and stay at home safely in severe weather, and the severe storms keep happening here and around the world," Nattie said. "It is a real sense of security and comfort to have power, water and heat."
Though the battery program is popular, GMP is not a one-trick-pony. Expanding access to home batteries is just one part of the utility's resiliency work. It also is undergrounding lines and using storm-hardening line construction techniques to keep communities powered up by preventing outages before they happen.
The company expects to invest an estimated $1.5 billion over the next seven years to strengthen its grid and buy batteries, according to a report in The New York Times. GMP said the investment was justified by the growing sum it had to spend on storm recovery and to trim and remove trees around its power lines.
Efforts to obtain additional details from the utility were unsuccessful. GMP is a participant in three power plant projects with a total investment value (TIV) of about $62 million, according to Industrial Info's Global Marketing Intelligence (GMI) platform. Subscribers can click here for a list of detailed project reports, and click here for a full list of plant profiles for facilities with GMP ownership.
As of the VPUC's August decision, GMP said about 2,900 customers have installed more than 4,800 batteries in their homes. During energy peaks, the utility networks stored energy together, along with utility-scale batteries and devices like car chargers, into a virtual power plant of about 50 MW of stored energy. Combined, this growing stored energy network has saved GMP customers up to $3 million a year for the last few years.
GMP's battery program is believed to be the largest energy-storage option offered by a utility in the country.
"This program is very popular with our customers, and it's been great for our business," said Victoria Roberts, a founder of Southern Vermont Solar. "We are so excited to see this program expand so more Vermonters can take part in it."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
