Tesla Virtual Power Plant - CA (Released for some SCE customers starting 08.15.2022)

[tracksyde]

I was just added to the program yesterday. However I noticed my usage yesterday was a little odd. I had pulled a few kWh from the grid during Peak hours (I’m on PRIME).

Today I made it a point to monitor my PW behavior after 4pm and here are some observations:

1. When my house was pulling about 5kw, solar was producing about 1kw, Powerwall was only kicking in 0.5kw and the rest was coming from the grid. I have my rate plan set to Prime, time based controls, export solar, no charging from the grid, 20% reserve (PW was at 95%)

2. When I switch it to self powered, all my usage comes from the Powerwall as you would expect. But switching it back to time based controls, it goes back to the odd behavior outlined above

3. There was a brief period where the app was showing I was pulling 1.6kw from the grid, 1.1kw was going to the house, 0.5kw going to PW (and another 0.5kw from solar also going to PW). And again, this is all during Peak.

4. Before, at 4pm, my solar would be sent 100% to the grid and my PW would provide 100% of the house load. This behavior seems consistent with the premise behind time based controls. But now I’m noticing that all my solar is being used for the house with nothing being sent to the grid during Peak.

I tried turning off VPP but that didn’t appear to change any of the odd behaviors I noticed above.

Has anyone else seen anything like this since joining VPP?

 

[KSBA farmer]

Is anyone using VPP with SCE and Central Coast Community Energy (3CE)? I just applied, and had to get the meter number off of the actual meter instead of the electric bill per Tesla instructions. (The meter number is not included on my SCE/3CE bill.)

 

[spsheridan]

Is anyone using VPP with SCE and Central Coast Community Energy (3CE)? I just applied, and had to get the meter number off of the actual meter instead of the electric bill per Tesla instructions. (The meter number is not included on my SCE/3CE bill.)

I'm not in your area but I do have SCE as my utility and have applied for the VPP. I submitted my application 10 days ago but my "application is pending". The app says "An answer may take a week or more" (that's helpful). I was hoping it would be soon given the heat and power issues CA is currently having.

I was able to find the meter number on my bill but it took some digging. I eventually found it near the table and graph that shows "Your past and current electricity usage". Let me know when you get approved and I'll do the same. Good luck!

 

[wattsupguys]

I signed up on Saturday or Sunday and received notice that I was accepted this morning (Labor Day Holiday), so SCE must have really wanted to expedite the approvals for the event tonight. I was bummed that the screen for VPP shows your instantaneous export (and includes the part that’s going to supply your house, instead of just the export to grid in that instantaneous number). So my one powerwall was supplying about 800w to my house and about 4.1kw to the grid but the VPP screen was showing 4.92kw… I guess when you think about it, the 4.92 number is the gross support of the grid since the grid would have had to supply the 800w to my house too, but we are only getting paid for the net, right?

And along that line, why can’t we see (or is there anywhere in the app?) a running counter of kWh supplied during events since the last true-up payment? Would be nice for transparency and also to motivate people to participate, if they can see their “break-even” on their solar/battery investment moving even closer…

 

[Redhill_qik]

I signed up on Saturday or Sunday and received notice that I was accepted this morning (Labor Day Holiday), so SCE must have really wanted to expedite the approvals for the event tonight. I was bummed that the screen for VPP shows your instantaneous export (and includes the part that’s going to supply your house, instead of just the export to grid in that instantaneous number). So my one powerwall was supplying about 800w to my house and about 4.1kw to the grid but the VPP screen was showing 4.92kw… I guess when you think about it, the 4.92 number is the gross support of the grid since the grid would have had to supply the 800w to my house too, but we are only getting paid for the net, right?

And along that line, why can’t we see (or is there anywhere in the app?) a running counter of kWh supplied during events since the last true-up payment? Would be nice for transparency and also to motivate people to participate, if they can see their “break-even” on their solar/battery investment moving even closer…

The VPP program is compensated based on the Powerwall discharge during the event minus the baseline discharge in the days prior to the event. The house load and grid export doesn't matter.

 

[wattsupguys]

The VPP program is compensated based on the Powerwall discharge during the event minus the baseline discharge in the days prior to the event. The house load and grid export doesn't matter.

Ah, yes. I guess I didn't read and comprehend the fine print carefully enough.

I guess that means that when my wife keeps starting appliances (dryer, dishwasher) during the 4-9pm period even on non-event days, she's screwing our ability to get compensated on event days because our baseline will higher (in powerwall discharge during those hours).

 

[spsheridan]

We applied for Tesla's Virtual Power Plant nearly six weeks ago and were finally approved for the program. Our utility company is Southern Cal Edison. Not sure if we’ll have any additional emergency events this summer but time will tell.

 

[sbryant]

Two questions:

1. While on VPP, do you still get credit for generated power (fed back into the grid) in the absence of an event?
2. Does an event only trigger between the peak hours (4-6p), or can it occur at any time?

 

[sbryant]

Two questions:

1. While on VPP, do you still get credit for generated power (fed back into the grid) in the absence of an event?
2. Does an event only trigger between the peak hours (4-6p), or can it occur at any time?

Sorry, peak hours are 4-9p

 

[spsheridan]

Two questions:

1. While on VPP, do you still get credit for generated power (fed back into the grid) in the absence of an event?
2. Does an event only trigger between the peak hours (4-6p), or can it occur at any time?

1. Yes, I am a VPP participant now and I get the normal credit for supplying energy to the grid when there is no declared event. With Southern Cal Edison, I get paid at the same retail rate as it would cost to consume that energy. Since I am on a Time of Use plan, that rate depends on the time of day and season during which I consume or supply energy to the grid.
2. Events can be declared by SCE at any time, not just during peak hours.

 

[sbryant]

1. Yes, I am a VPP participant now and I get the normal credit for supplying energy to the grid when there is no declared event. With Southern Cal Edison, I get paid at the same retail rate as it would cost to consume that energy. Since I am on a Time of Use plan, that rate depends on the time of day and season during which I consume or supply energy to the grid.
2. Events can be declared by SCE at any time, not just during peak hours.

Thank you!

 

[skepticcyclist]

Where do you sign up? I do not see this option on my APP

 

[spsheridan]

Where do you sign up? I do not see this option on my APP

This page says the VPP program was in Beta and is no longer accepting new enrollment.
Join the Tesla Virtual Power Plant | Tesla Support

 

[Dandufrenger]

I joined in 2022 with SCE. That page says it is beta 2021. I have been watching the fleet number which is the number of participants. It was 1776 last week and today it is 1789 so clearly they are accepting new members.

In the Tesla app, the Virtual Power Plant is between Impact and Settings. You have to have a Powerwall and Gateway that can support the firmware version that allows you to participate in the VPP. If you have the proper hardware, make sure your firmware is up to date.

 

[skepticcyclist]

In the Tesla app, the Virtual Power Plant is between Impact and Settings.

Don't have that option.

I know I did at one time, about 2 years ago. My phone did have VPP (Beta) but it was not through SCE. I think it was a Tesla thing

 

[spsheridan]

I think @Dandufrenger is correct and the program is still allowing some new members. Your power company also needs to allow participation in the program. I have SCE and signed up for the program about a year ago. It’s odd that VPP doesn’t appear in your app given that you also have SCE as your provider. The area that SCE services is pretty large and it’s possible that there are regions within SCE's service area that are managed separately. You might consider contacting SCE to see if they currently support Tesla’s VPP program in your area.

Just to confirm, do you have a Powerwall and a Tesla Gateway? Also, what version of the Tesla app are you running?

 

[skepticcyclist]

Just to confirm, do you have a Powerwall and a Tesla Gateway? Also, what version of the Tesla app are you running?

Yes.
APP: 4.21.0
Gateway: 23.4.2-1

 

[spsheridan]

Yes.
APP: 4.21.0
Gateway: 23.4.2-1

That’s a puzzle. My app version is also 4.21.0 and my Gateway is also 23.4.2-1. The fact that VPP is not appearing in your app leads me to believe the issue is with Tesla, not SCE. Even so, it still could help to contact SCE - they might know what’s going on with Tesla's VPP program in your area and it might be easier to get a response from SCE than from Tesla.

 

[Steveohkb24]

Don't have that option.

I know I did at one time, about 2 years ago. My phone did have VPP (Beta) but it was not through SCE. I think it was a Tesla thing

I also don't have the option. I'm with SCE and Clean Power Alliance (CPA) as well. I got 4 pws (2 pw+ and 2 pws).

I advise you open up a ticket to Tesla. I spoke to them on chat a little more than a couple weeks ago, and they opened up a ticket for me. The Tesla rep said it may take up to 20 or 30 business days for them to enable the enrollment and registration on the app for me. Apparently it has go through the Powerwall Tier II team then their application/dev team which is why the wait is lengthy.

All in all, I'm hoping to register to the VPP by the time of the first event this summer.