Tesla as an energy company offers variable contract to Powerwall users Texas

Tesla has started a pilot for Tesla Electric in the US state of Texas, a monthly energy contract in which owners of a Powerwall home battery buy and sell power via Tesla. It is the first time that Tesla has actually delivered power to customers.

The new Electric subscription is currently available on an invitation basis; customers in certain locations in Texas with a free choice of supplier can buy and sell energy directly from Tesla, taking the company’s role as an energy supplier. Tesla uses all connected Powerwall home batteries and solar panels as a virtual power plant that can supply power to the Texas grid at peak times.

At times when demand for electricity is low, Tesla says it stores the electricity in this chain of batteries to sell the excess energy later at the highest possible prices. Should there be a shortage of electricity, Tesla will supply ‘renewable energy’ directly to customers.

Customers have a monthly energy contract with Tesla. The company updates in their own words ‘roughly once a month’ the energy supply prices. The feed-in fee that customers can earn changes every 15 minutes. Customers build up credit with the company by supplying power to the grid, where they can exchange excess credit for cash once a year.

The Electric subscription seems to be a follow-up to it Virtual Power Plant System, which Tesla has already tested in California, Japan and Australia. In several regions with unreliable power grids, Tesla used connected Powerwall batteries as a temporary storage facility for excess electricity, then fed it back during emergencies and power shortages. Initially, Powerwall owners could voluntarily join this network, later a feed-in fee was given for providing power during such emergencies.

Images via Tesla