Tesla Virtual Power Plant in CA

[inductive]

Ah yes, my bad, I do see now you stated "on top of" both items, not "vs" them. And that's a good point to emphasize, that in all of these demand response programs, you still get your normal credit for export, or cost avoidance from not having consumed energy when reducing actual loads.

With EE set to Export Everything mine dumps my single Powerwall to the grid as quickly as possible (~5kW) starting at 4pm (EV2-A peak start). With EE set to solar it dumps at 1kW.

That difference might impact the baseline calculation as for me with only one PW after a couple of hours into E2V-A peak I have to rely on residual solar plus grid.

 

[inductive]

With EE set to Export Everything mine dumps my single Powerwall to the grid as quickly as possible (~5kW) starting at 4pm (EV2-A peak start). With EE set to solar it dumps at 1kW.

That difference might impact the baseline calculation as for me with only one PW after a couple of hours into E2V-A peak I have to rely on residual solar plus grid.

Actually I just realized it isn't dumping the Powerwall to grid at all with EE set to solar. It is the house using 1kW, the solar 3.2kW is going to the grid.

But the idea is still similar that this may impact baseline calc depending on what time the calculation uses for prior use.

 

[astrorob]

my application was approved a couple days back. was expecting trouble since the name on my tesla account is different than the PGE account, but then again i was added as an authorized user to the PGE account back in 2015 so maybe that's why it all went thru automagically.

with ~1200 homes each able to push 5KW at a minimum, this is like a 6MW virtual plant but i guess it might only be available for an hour or so every day? it's not too shabby i think. hope more people sign up.

 

[cwied]

Well, I guess you can say that both aren't relevant which was really my point as the VPP compensation is on top of both of them. For context I was replying to the question "So then what is the difference between VP and Export Everything? "

The rules on the how PG&E/Tesla will be calculating the kWh that are exported for the ELRP are ambiguous in my opinion (see earlier posts here). One interpretation is that our "average load" is determined by the last 10 weekdays or 4 weekend days and that is subtracted from the amount used/exported during the event. If this is correct then if you are always exporting your entire PW during this time there won't be difference and you get $0. Another interpretation is that if the "average load" is negative during the previous days it set to 0 kWh and you are compensated for everything that you export. In the first case, if you are using Export Everything that will count against you, but in the second case it wouldn't.

The baseline calculation using the previous 10 days is for each hour, so export everything could still work. The event times are most likely to be late in the peak period, so if export everything dumps at the beginning of the period, the baseline for the event hours would still be lower.

 

[wwhitney]

The baseline calculation using the previous 10 days is for each hour, so export everything could still work. The event times are most likely to be late in the peak period, so if export everything dumps at the beginning of the period, the baseline for the event hours would still be lower.

Do we know that VPP events are determined sufficiently far in advance, and that the VPP event will stop Export Everything from exporting at the beginning of Peak?

Cheers, Wayne

 

[jboy210]

I wish Tesla had some Megapacks spread throughout the area. Then we could designate some of our solar overages to charge these in the days before a predicted need event. That would let us share the previous overproduction when we had power, and also have our full local Powerwall reserves for our needs during the event.

 

[cwied]

Do we know that VPP events are determined sufficiently far in advance, and that the VPP event will stop Export Everything from exporting at the beginning of Peak?

Cheers, Wayne

The announcement did say that most VPP events would be dispatched day ahead. We don’t know how export everything will work with the VPP, but other Tesla VPPs do change discharging and charging behavior on event days (see for example Connected Solutions Real-World Experiences (MA - National Grid / EverSource)). The PG&E VPP seems to allow the user more control, though. If export everything isn’t altered on event days, it will need to be disabled on the event day manually or through external automation.

 

[Zabe]

my application was approved a couple days back. was expecting trouble since the name on my tesla account is different than the PGE account, but then again i was added as an authorized user to the PGE account back in 2015 so maybe that's why it all went thru automagically.

with ~1200 homes each able to push 5KW at a minimum, this is like a 6MW virtual plant but i guess it might only be available for an hour or so every day? it's not too shabby i think. hope more people sign up.

6 MW that is absolutely pathetic. I run a relatively small system and losing a 6/MW generator is basically not noticable except for the actual breaker operation.

 

[dailo]

Has anyone tried contacting PGE to get their VPP application approved? The number Tesla lists to call is just the main number and was wondering if someone had already gone through the process of what to tell PGE.

 

[Steve2498]

Has anyone tried contacting PGE to get their VPP application approved? The number Tesla lists to call is just the main number and was wondering if someone had already gone through the process of what to tell PGE.

I was planning to but ended up not needing to. My 1st application was denied-though they didn’t say why. I think it may have been because although I referenced my physical address, I gave my mailing address (a PO Box). Before calling them, I tried applying a second time using only my physical address. Neither PG&E nor Tesla contacted me but 3 days later it now shows in the app that I’m part of the program.

 

[aesculus]

After a week mine came back as rejected because it said my numbers did not match with my powerwalls?

I was able to re-apply (99% sure I put in the correct numbers first time), so we'll see what the next week brings. (I pulled the numbers from the B/W bill and they were the same as what is on the blue bill).

I got rejected again and had to call in to find out they have a data entry error wrt my account. It's going to take a week to fix it before I can sign up again.

 

[aesculus]

Has anyone tried contacting PGE to get their VPP application approved? The number Tesla lists to call is just the main number and was wondering if someone had already gone through the process of what to tell PGE.

Try this number: 1-800-492-5190

 

[miimura]

I just got confirmation that my JuiceNet enrollment will be cancelled in a couple days. I will wait another week and apply to the VPP in the app again.

 

[SoundDaTrumpet]

If you see this:

Go here:
Registered Demand Response Providers (DRPs)/Aggregators & FAQ
Beware: Nest isn’t listed.

Then:
For anything familiar, make many phone calls to remove participation. Turns out for me they ALL verified I was enrolled with them! Somewhat frustrating that PG&E and Olivine (3rd party provider for PG&E, 1-800-492-5190) cannot determine what programs a home is enrolled in.

I had Olivine (home batteries), Ecobee Eco+, OhmConnect OhmHour, AND Enel X JuiceNet JuicePoints all needing to be manually disconnected/removed by each program owner. JuicePoints enrollment was latest discovery, so it'll take 5-7 days to remove me before I apply again for VPP in the Tesla App as well.

 

[dailo]

I enrolled in OhmConnect a while back but deleted my account, I guess maybe that wasn't enough to be removed from the program.

 

[donatello]

i received "you are not eligible to enroll at this time " in tesla app .. i called the number tesla listed 800 743 5000 for PGE ..
1st pge said my system was not listed with them and perhaps it was just installed = i stated the solar was installed in 2017 ... 2nd they stated the 2 PW were not listed = i stated they were installed 7/2020 ... they took down the info and said they would get back ..
week later received a email stating

Thank you for your application to enroll in Tesla's Virtual Power Plant.

Unfortunately, you are currently not eligible to enroll in Tesla's Virtual Power Plant. Our records show your Rule 21 Interconnection Agreement does not include your storage system and therefore does not meet the requirements of the program.

Please contact your storage system contractor and/or installer for more information about what equipment is covered in your Rule 21 Interconnection Agreement.

 

[skepticcyclist]

Is this a PGE only feature? It doesn't even appear as an option on my APP. I'm in SCE area.

 

[BGbreeder]

i received "you are not eligible to enroll at this time " in tesla app .. i called the number tesla listed 800 743 5000 for PGE ..
1st pge said my system was not listed with them and perhaps it was just installed = i stated the solar was installed in 2017 ... 2nd they stated the 2 PW were not listed = i stated they were installed 7/2020 ... they took down the info and said they would get back ..
week later received a email stating

Thank you for your application to enroll in Tesla's Virtual Power Plant.

Unfortunately, you are currently not eligible to enroll in Tesla's Virtual Power Plant. Our records show your Rule 21 Interconnection Agreement does not include your storage system and therefore does not meet the requirements of the program.

Please contact your storage system contractor and/or installer for more information about what equipment is covered in your Rule 21 Interconnection Agreement.

Welcome to the forum!

Sorry to hear of your issues. Welcome to the wonderful world of bureaucracy that surrounds interconnection agreements. Do you have copies of the paperwork that support your installations? It might help to get copies from PG&E of what they have first, just in case someone on their end misread your paperwork. If PG&E is, gasp, right, then unfortunately, it would be the case that you need to go back to your installer and file amended paperwork.

Please keep us posted.

All the best,

BG

 

[bmah]

Is this a PGE only feature? It doesn't even appear as an option on my APP. I'm in SCE area.

Just PG&E for now (EDIT: at least for the feature being discussed).

Emergency Load Reduction Pilot | Tesla Support

Participate in the Emergency Load Reduction Program (ELRP) pilot offered by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and support the grid while also earning compensation and maintaining your energy security.

www.tesla.com

Bruce.

 

[aesculus]

After a week mine came back as rejected because it said my numbers did not match with my powerwalls?

I was able to re-apply (99% sure I put in the correct numbers first time), so we'll see what the next week brings. (I pulled the numbers from the B/W bill and they were the same as what is on the blue bill).

Well it turns out my issue was that the Rule 21 document for my installation was not in the records sent to Olivine. I had to send my PTO email and docs to them. They are now in the process of getting my records updated so I can register for the 3rd time.