Blog Tesla Plans to Sell Energy to Texans

Tesla has filed an application with the Texas Public Utility Commission to sell electricity to customers.

The application, first reported by Texas Monthly, was submitted by a Tesla subsidiary called Tesla Energy Ventures.

Tesla also intends to build two massive batteries near Austin and Houston. The 100-megawatt storage system would enable Tesla to serve power companies. The company has built several examples of large-scale batteries around the world, including California and Australia.

In those instances, Tesla is assisting the power companies. Its new venture in Texas would sell power directly to consumers. The reliability of the grid in Texas has been of concern since freezing temperatures in February left millions of residents without power or water for days.

Tesla is currently building a factory near Austin. Chief Executive Elon Musk’s other company SpaceX also has operations in the state. 

It’s not clear when Tesla plans to bring the service live.

 

[h2ofun]

Hmmm, I didn't think that using a Powerwall -also- allowed putting power back into the grid
(aka your local electricity provider). So this seems to imply that - IF I should have "extra"
electrons from my solar roof/panels (i.e. my Powerwall is fully charged) that I could then
also "sell" power to the provider. That would, of course, require that first I have a Tesla
system (don't yet - not available here in Washington state at this time) and second that I
can generate enough extra power to fill my Powerwall (over and above what power I'm
using) ... which is, again, not so likely because I live in Washington state. ???
Yes, I did contact Tesla (thru the chat on Tesla.com) and was told "Sorry, Charlie, we
aren't selling Powerwalls, Tesla roofs, or Tesla panels in Washington." They then told me
they'd contact me when that changes - but also said words to the effect of "I am not
allowed to speculate on when that might happen.". Which, to me, means that there
are no firm plans to sell solar in Washington state ... at this time. Perhaps in Eastern
Washington but not on the West side of the Cascades? Wait, Wait - the Eastern part
of the state has zero large population centers and a small percentage of the population.

===> "Don't hold your breath, Jim - you aren't likely to see Tesla solar ... in your
lifetime." (I am, after all, in the later stages of my life.)
- *Sigh* ... Jim

Lots of other options than
tesla

 

[Oldrocky]

Is there another solar provider that has anything remotely equivalent to the PowerWall? - Jim

 

[T_Gravity]

Tesla is Now officially an Energy Provider in Texas.

Tesla is officially an energy provider in Texas

Tesla has officially entered the Texas market as an energy provider, new documents from the Texas Public Utility Commission state. In August, Tesla Energy had officially filed an application with the Texas Public Utility Commission to sell power in the Lone Star State. Initially reported by...

www.teslarati.com

I am hoping with the entry of Tesla, Texas to have better net metering plans. Right now, all the available plans are horrible and may even be like penalizing people who want to go solar rather than incentivizing them.

What are you thoughts??

 

[Vines]

Is there another solar provider that has anything remotely equivalent to the PowerWall? - Jim

The Enphase Encharge system is a pretty good one I would say. Not quite as good as the Tesla Powerwall, especially for a Tesla ecosystem user but it is pretty good.

 

[charlesj]

The Enphase Encharge system is a pretty good one I would say. Not quite as good as the Tesla Powerwall, especially for a Tesla ecosystem user but it is pretty good.

And, I would think Enphase has better customer service?

 

[sunwarriors]

And, I would think Enphase has better customer service?

I am probably biased since I went with Enphase, but I was actually deadset on Powerwalls when I started my research, but they were not available from any installer anytime soon so went with Enphase instead due to NEM3.0 timing concerns.

The biggest difference with Enphase is LFP battery chemistry. No software can change that piece. It was probably my main determining factor actually.

Obvious downsides are lower energy density vs. a Powerwall. Cost for 2x Enphase 10s + install was similar for me vs 2x Powerwalls from local installers (tesla will have more kWh). A install from Tesla direct will be cheaper, but there are risks as you see posted here. My PTO was ~1 week even though I was assuming months.

One benefits is that Enphase is not tied to their cars (Tesla motors) so it's more likely Enphase will do things more ideal for solar/storage (like developing vehicle to home which Musk has spoken out against) which Enphase mentioned after their purchase of ClipperCreek last week. I assume V2H will hurt sales of Powerwalls.

Enphase now has a generator connected option live which can charge the batteries automatically if you have no solar for long stretches of time. This may allow someone to go with less batteries and have 'another' backup plan for unknown situations. I may look into this if we actually get power outages.

 

[cbdream99]

I just got a message in the app, Tesla is offering electricity for Solar/Powerwall owners in Texas (Houston and Dallas areas).

OffPeak 14c/kwh 7PM -4PM
Peak 24.6c/kwn 4PM-7PM

Variable monthly rate, cancel anytime (Note: we all know how customer service experience in Tesla, and the bizarre century ice storm astronomical price of electricity here).

Any takers, thoughts?

 

[ZBB]

I also received the in-app message.

Curious to see how it works for others. We have 18 months left on out free nights plan that works very well for us. I’ll have to model the Tesla plan, but I think it will cost more. The unknown is how selling at market rates works…

 

[CrazyRabbit]

Ouch, I pay 14.5 cents per kWh…

 

[Jones1]

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRVTXJtA/

 

[MajorCuddles]

Has anyone swapped to Tesla Electric yet?
I'm really interested in what the variable market based rates look like later this week with sub-freezing temperatures impacting much of Texas over a multi day period while many people are home all day for the holidays...

If y'all recall, Griddy was a niche but popular Texas Retail Electric Provider in 2019-2020 whose whole premise was charging a flat base charge and then the spot rate... The February 2021 Winter Storm resulted in massive bills to many of their customers.... they later filed for bankruptcy.

The Tesla Electric plan seems to have a very similar premise: customers buy & sell electricity through Tesla at 90% of the spot rate.
That approach seems to expose customers to similar downside risks as the Griddy plan. Right?

I'm not trying to demonize Griddy here... I think that their business model was innovative and disruptive which certainly worked very well until it hit this corner case. They saw the risk coming in the lead up to the storm and sent proactive messages practically urging their customers to switch to fixed rate providers and warning them of the risks coming.

Tesla Electric customers with Solar and Powerwalls will obviously be able to hedge and mitigate a portion of the risk exposure, but it seems like there's definitely risk exposure here.

Can y'all help me figure out what I'm missing here or share your experiences over the coming weeks?

 

[Tam]

Has anyone swapped to Tesla Electric yet?
I'm really interested in what the variable market based rates look like later this week with sub-freezing temperatures impacting much of Texas over a multi day period while many people are home all day for the holidays...

If y'all recall, Griddy was a niche but popular Texas Retail Electric Provider in 2019-2020 whose whole premise was charging a flat base charge and then the spot rate... The February 2021 Winter Storm resulted in massive bills to many of their customers.... they later filed for bankruptcy.

The Tesla Electric plan seems to have a very similar premise: customers buy & sell electricity through Tesla at 90% of the spot rate.
That approach seems to expose customers to similar downside risks as the Griddy plan. Right?

I'm not trying to demonize Griddy here... I think that their business model was innovative and disruptive which certainly worked very well until it hit this corner case. They saw the risk coming in the lead up to the storm and sent proactive messages practically urging their customers to switch to fixed rate providers and warning them of the risks coming.

Tesla Electric customers with Solar and Powerwalls will obviously be able to hedge and mitigate a portion of the risk exposure, but it seems like there's definitely risk exposure here.

Can y'all help me figure out what I'm missing here or share your experiences over the coming weeks?

In general, that depends.

Some people love volatility. They bet most of the time the price is low.

Others prefer stability/predictibility even when it means you pay a premium for it.

 

[MajorCuddles]

Well, I answered part of my own question a few minutes later... The Tesla Electric Billing FAQ states that the Tesla Electric rates are set on a monthly basis:

Will my monthly rate fluctuate: We update our electricity rates once each month to reflect the long-term trends in electricity generation and delivery prices. Our rates are built for stability – so you should not expect a significant rate difference from month-to-month.

 

[Jones1]

Has anyone swapped to Tesla Electric yet?
I'm really interested in what the variable market based rates look like later this week with sub-freezing temperatures impacting much of Texas over a multi day period while many people are home all day for the holidays...

If y'all recall, Griddy was a niche but popular Texas Retail Electric Provider in 2019-2020 whose whole premise was charging a flat base charge and then the spot rate... The February 2021 Winter Storm resulted in massive bills to many of their customers.... they later filed for bankruptcy.

The Tesla Electric plan seems to have a very similar premise: customers buy & sell electricity through Tesla at 90% of the spot rate.
That approach seems to expose customers to similar downside risks as the Griddy plan. Right?

I'm not trying to demonize Griddy here... I think that their business model was innovative and disruptive which certainly worked very well until it hit this corner case. They saw the risk coming in the lead up to the storm and sent proactive messages practically urging their customers to switch to fixed rate providers and warning them of the risks coming.

Tesla Electric customers with Solar and Powerwalls will obviously be able to hedge and mitigate a portion of the risk exposure, but it seems like there's definitely risk exposure here.

Can y'all help me figure out what I'm missing here or share your experiences over the coming weeks?

Yes. I have signed up. Lowest sell rate I’ve seen is 2.6 cents. The highest I’ve seen was 6-8 cents. I buy at 14.1 cents off peak. On peak I’m always pulling from my PW. So I haven’t been charged off peak rate of 24.1 cents yet.
The PW gets used for peak 4pm-7pm. Then it will stop being used until 12am-3am. Depending on my SOC of the PW I notice. Y the time the Un comes out. It will start charging the PW again. I have my PW backup set to 30/70 mostly and 40/60 a few times.

 

[phsoccer]

Yes. I have signed up. Lowest sell rate I’ve seen is 2.6 cents. The highest I’ve seen was 6-8 cents. I buy at 14.1 cents off peak. On peak I’m always pulling from my PW. So I haven’t been charged off peak rate of 24.1 cents yet.
The PW gets used for peak 4pm-7pm. Then it will stop being used until 12am-3am. Depending on my SOC of the PW I notice. Y the time the Un comes out. It will start charging the PW again. I have my PW backup set to 30/70 mostly and 40/60 a few times.

I think I like it so far, but you do lose control of your PW. I used to use my PW to get me through the night with no power from the grid, but when you sign up for Tesla Electric, you lose granular control of the PW. With the cold snap today, I saw the variable buy rate anywhere from $1.35 to $4.20/kWh. This didn't last long, but it will be interesting to see my first bill.

 

[Jones1]

I love it. I was selling at $2-$3.70 per kWh. I don’t know the full amount. That I made. Hopefully it can balance me out to a zero bill. Then roll over for next year. You do lose control of your PW. But you can move your reserve around. So you can have a good back up. It’s like AuotPilot for the PW.

 

[Jones1]

I think I like it so far, but you do lose control of your PW. I used to use my PW to get me through the night with no power from the grid, but when you sign up for Tesla Electric, you lose granular control of the PW. With the cold snap today, I saw the variable buy rate anywhere from $1.35 to $4.20/kWh. This didn't last long, but it will be interesting to see my first bill.

Post tomorrow. If you have time. I was surprised this morning to see how much a KWh was going for. . Maybe this will cover my Tesla stock losses.

 

[phsoccer]

Post tomorrow. If you have time. I was surprised this morning to see how much a KWh was going for. . Maybe this will cover my Tesla stock losses.

I wish the app had more granularity to it on selling over time. You just get the graph on a tiny iPhone screen. I'm hoping they eventually allow a download to Excel like they do for power generation from my panels. Since 5:00 pm, the sell price has been above the trigger price of $0.30/kWh, but I'm not sure how many kWh I sold.

 

[Jones1]

I wish the app had more granularity to it on selling over time. You just get the graph on a tiny iPhone screen. I'm hoping they eventually allow a download to Excel like they do for power generation from my panels. Since 5:00 pm, the sell price has been above the trigger price of $0.30/kWh, but I'm not sure how many kWh I sold.

Exactly. I know it’s the best app and software. But I want more. I know they just rolled it out. We are Fortunate to have it start in Texas. Hopefully by next year. It will show more data. It should at least show what you owe or have as a credit. In real-time. Day to day or week to week. Not that energy impact info. That doesn’t help us calculate or guess our bill.

 

[Jones1]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1606870341875552257