Tesla’s new electricity retail program, Tesla Electric, has erased this homeowner’s electricity bill and paid him $1,000 in 2023.
Late last year, after gaining experience through its virtual power plants (VPPs), Tesla took things a step further with the launch of “Tesla Electric.”
Instead of reacting to specific “events” and providing services to your local electric utilities, as Tesla Powerwall owners have done in VPPs in California, Australia, and a few other markets, Tesla Electric is actively and automatically buying and selling electricity for Tesla Powerwall owners – providing a buffer against peak prices.
The company is essentially becoming an energy retailer.
Tesla Electric is currently only available to Powerwall owners in Texas, but the company has plans to expand its products through this new division.
We have recently seen efforts to bring Tesla Electric to the UK and Australia.
In Texas, we are now coming up on a year of Tesla Electric, and some early customers are reporting on their experience.
A customer in particular shared proof that they ended the year with over $1,000 in credit;
This means that the Tesla Electric customer is a net positive to the grid and provided power that Tesla was able to monetize.
$1,098.76 is the homeowner’s share of the monetization of the power they sent back into the grid.
The home in question is equipped with a 12.24 kW solar system and 3 Tesla Powerwall+.
Under the Tesla Electric plan, that system was able to not only eliminate the home’s energy bill but also made the homeowner over $1,000 in the first year.
Electrek’s Take
Now, when I think of a “smart grid”, that’s what I think about. These people have their own little power plant. That’s awesome.
Tesla is really able to take advantage of decentralized energy assets like home solar and batteries.
It’s also going to get better as the added value makes those systems more financially viable. As they are more financially viable, more of them are banded together to create these virtual power plants – resulting in better and more valuable grid services.
That’s the future. A combination of decentralized energy assets with large scale wind and solar farms linked to bigger energy storage projects.
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