Tesla Virtual Power Plant in CA

[zanary]

For the VPP, you will get a check directly from Tesla, and not a credit on your PG&E bill. I have no idea if this is only for Solar/Storage or does it include Storage Only customers. I know that I'm waiting for my first check from last years VPP, but I am a Solar/Storage customer. This was the last communication from Tesla regarding my VPP from November 4th.

The link in the image below takes you to this web page: Emergency Load Reduction Pilot | Tesla Support

And it says that "Your payment will come from Tesla and you can expect payment before the end of March 2023." So, 60 more days before I can confirm if that statement is valid.

 

[Redhill_qik]

I’m a PG&E customer with two Powerwalls and no solar. Is anyone without solar participating in VPP? Since we don’t normally export and earn any credit, how does exporting electricity affect the utility bill? (I’ve read somewhere that the meter has to be specifically configured to account for export, otherwise they bill you even for exported kWh.) Thank you.

I don't recall anyone mentioning that they participated in either the 2021 or 2022 VPP beta that did not also have solar. There is nothing that I am aware of the CPUC authorization for virtual power plants that would prohibit a non-solar ESS site from participating. You had to be invited by Tesla to join the VPP and then PG&E/SCE/SDGE had to approve your acceptance, so if you didn't get the invite or you weren't approved then you wouldn't be able to participate. Since the IOU has to approve you, I wouldn't expect any negative fallout for exporting during a VPP event.

When I was pre-PTO and the system was being tested my smart meter was registering negative kW going to the grid for brief periods and the PG&E Green Button data should a couple of periods with the negative flow. I think that if your meter is reporting negative kW then the worst case is you get $0 in offsets for the exports, but if you are seeing positive numbers then you would likely be paying for the kWh that you are exporting.

 

[notsure11]

Thank you. I just checked PG&E Green Button data from last billing cycle, and I don’t see any negative number under the Usage column. On my Tesla app, I do see 0.1 kWh exported on some days, but probably too minuscule to register if it’s spread out throughout the day.

I am invited to apply for VPP, but I got denied presumably because I’m already participating in my local public power provider’s Smart Charge pilot program (they try to charge my EV during hours of low demand and I get up to $5/month credit). I can cancel that and try joining VPP again, but it doens’t sound like VPP is year-round? When is the VPP season? Thank you.

 

[Redhill_qik]

Thank you. I just checked PG&E Green Button data from last billing cycle, and I don’t see any negative number under the Usage column. On my Tesla app, I do see 0.1 kWh exported on some days, but probably too minuscule to register if it’s spread out throughout the day.

I am invited to apply for VPP, but I got denied presumably because I’m already participating in my local public power provider’s Smart Charge pilot program (they try to charge my EV during hours of low demand and I get up to $5/month credit). I can cancel that and try joining VPP again, but it doens’t sound like VPP is year-round? When is the VPP season? Thank you.

There is a requirement that you can't be in another incentive program, so that might have been the reason but that seems to be a very minor encouragement versus Ohmconnect. You probably could have gotten an answer when you were denied at the time, but now it is unlikely you will get an answer. Getting the invite at least meant that Tesla thought that you should be eligible. If you had been accepted you may not have been allowed to export more than your house load, but you could have still received a benefit for powering your home from the Powerwall during the VPP so long as that wasn't a normal behavior for you in the days that proceeded the VPP event. The $2/kWh is for the difference between the Powerwall exports during the event and the baseline period (10 weekdays or 4 weekend days) and not what is exported to the grid. This reduce the load on the grid as your home is no longer pulling from the grid.

The 2021 program started and ended. Anyone that participated had to reapply for the 2022 program and I would expect the same for 2023. Eventually this will move from a beta/pilot program into something full time.

 

[charlesj]

Thank you. I just checked PG&E Green Button data from last billing cycle, and I don’t see any negative number under the Usage column. On my Tesla app, I do see 0.1 kWh exported on some days, but probably too minuscule to register if it’s spread out throughout the day.

I am invited to apply for VPP, but I got denied presumably because I’m already participating in my local public power provider’s Smart Charge pilot program (they try to charge my EV during hours of low demand and I get up to $5/month credit). I can cancel that and try joining VPP again, but it doens’t sound like VPP is year-round? When is the VPP season? Thank you.

You may want to check and see if you can opt out from your present program and back in, in essence jumping out and back in when VPP is over. Not sure when it starts or ended but it was, for me, just a few months. Then you can change programs on the fly?

 

[sunwarriors]

New video from Ben Sullins/Matt Ferrell about VPP on east coast, battery discussions, what they sound like they are buying storage wise next:

 

[notsure11]

You may want to check and see if you can opt out from your present program and back in, in essence jumping out and back in when VPP is over. Not sure when it starts or ended but it was, for me, just a few months. Then you can change programs on the fly?

Thank you. Yes, I'll try doing that. Even though I was denied when I requested to join VPP, the invite didn't disappear and I can apply again. It sounds like VPP events are only over the summer, so I'm thinking I don't need to jump out of my current Smart Charge program now. Does anyone know when you have to apply to join VPP by in order to participate in the 2023 cycle?

 

[miimura]

I was enrolled in Enel JuicePoints. I canceled it in hopes of joining the Tesla VPP but Enel support is unable or unwilling to get it disconnected from my PG&E account. I will have to try to force the issue from the PG&E side with the Rule 21 department.

 

[notsure11]

I was enrolled in Enel JuicePoints. I canceled it in hopes of joining the Tesla VPP but Enel support is unable or unwilling to get it disconnected from my PG&E account. I will have to try to force the issue from the PG&E side with the Rule 21 department.

I got a push notification from my Tesla app a few days ago saying my application to join VPP was denied (presumably because I'm currently enrolled in my Community Choice Aggregation's Smart Charge pilot). But I just checked my Tesla app, and it looks like I am actually now enrolled in VPP? When I click Virtual Power Plant, it shows the number of Fleet Homes in my city. And under Settings, it shows VPP is enabled. Very weird.

 

[jboy210]

Thank you. Yes, I'll try doing that. Even though I was denied when I requested to join VPP, the invite didn't disappear and I can apply again. It sounds like VPP events are only over the summer, so I'm thinking I don't need to jump out of my current Smart Charge program now. Does anyone know when you have to apply to join VPP by in order to participate in the 2023 cycle?

I believe all the VPP events in 2022 where in Fall, when we had those really hot days and the big power outages. I joined the VPP program in early summer 2022 and was eligible to participate in most of the events. I had decided not to join early in the year. Enrolment took a week or so.

 

[charlesj]

I checked my notes. Had 2 events in August 22 and eight in September 22, 108 kWh exported.

 

[cwied]

The program that the Tesla VPP is a part of is the Emergency Load Reduction Program. Its season is May through October. Here is a page on the CPUC site describing the program (not yet updated for 2023): Emergency Load Reduction Program
ELRP events are strongly weather-dependent due to AC usage, so they're more likely in our hot late summer/fall season than in the early summer. I imagine if there's a heat wave early on, they're possible though. ELRP events often overlap with Flex Alerts, but there wasn't a one-to-one correspondence last year.

 

[Redhill_qik]

The program that the Tesla VPP is a part of is the Emergency Load Reduction Program. Its season is May through October. Here is a page on the CPUC site describing the program (not yet updated for 2023): Emergency Load Reduction Program
ELRP events are strongly weather-dependent due to AC usage, so they're more likely in our hot late summer/fall season than in the early summer. I imagine if there's a heat wave early on, they're possible though. ELRP events often overlap with Flex Alerts, but there wasn't a one-to-one correspondence last year.

In the first year, 2021, the event times seemed to be mostly random and maybe only 1 or 2 were tied to a Flex Alert. I think this was because it was an experimentation phase. In the second year, 2022, all of the VPP events were tied to Flex Alert events, but for some reason there wasn't a VPP event on 9/2 when there was a Flex Alert. I don't know where to find specifics on ELRP events to add that column.

Day	Date	VPP	Flex Alert
Wed	8/17/2022	Yes	Yes
Wed	8/31/2022	Yes	Yes
Thu	9/1/2022	Yes	Yes
Fri	9/2/2023	No	Yes
Sat	9/3/2022	Yes	Yes
Sun	9/4/2022	Yes	Yes
Mon/Holiday	9/5/2022	Yes	Yes
Tue	9/6/2022	Yes	Yes
Wed	9/7/2022	Yes	Yes
Thu	9/8/2022	Yes	Yes
Thu	9/9/2022	Yes	Yes

 

[jboy210]

My guess is based on past responses to Flex alerts they can make a reasonable estimate on their increase in grid capacity. And if the demand is forecast to exceed the impact from Flex alerts, they move to more aggressive strategies of adding power like buying in other markets including VPP.

Anyone know where can we get the data on the effectiveness of VPP in reducing power shutdowns?

 

[Redhill_qik]

L

My guess is based on past responses to Flex alerts they can make a reasonable estimate on their increase in grid capacity. And if the demand is forecast to exceed the impact from Flex alerts, they move to more aggressive strategies of adding power like buying in other markets including VPP.

Anyone know where can we get the data on the effectiveness of VPP in reducing power shutdowns?

Last Bulb has data for PG&E and SCE 2022 Tesla VPP events (Tesla's Virtual Power Plant Tracker — Lastbulb) the highest contribution was 68.6 MWH on 9/8 which was the last event. They estimate that it with the current enrollment it could deliver 84 MWh based on the latest enrollment numbers and assuming an average of 15 kWh per site. The Tesla VPP helped, but I wasn't a major impact.

I was curious about how OhmConnect was contributing and found this page (How to Engage CA’s Biggest Savers in Flex Alerts), During one of the early Flex Alerts they removed 30.2 MWh from the grid, but they are making a case that they could have reduced by 96-224 MW if they were in the ELRP or had a higher dispatch amount. The page says MW and not MWh only for the relevant two sentence paragraph, so this might mean 384-896 MWh for a 4 hour event. OhmConnect says that they have 200,000 customer sites which is much higher than the Tesla VPP which has only 5,751 sites.

 

[wattsupguys]

Saw an article online that people are receiving letters with their payment amount this year. Anyone in California with SCE receive a letter yet?

 

[yblaser]

Saw an article online that people are receiving letters with their payment amount this year. Anyone in California with SCE receive a letter yet?

There is another thread here:

got email describing VPP payout today

the email says they've mailed the check and not much else other than the amount - for me it's about $72. this is a little less than double the amount that i calculated with the spreadsheet that @Redhill_qik posted. i guess i must have screwed up my data input, so it's a pleasant surprise.

teslamotorsclub.com

It seems everybody reporting the email are in PG&E territory. I'm with SCE and haven't gotten anything yet.

 

[eaa795]

I was just able to enroll today after being rejected for some unknown reason last year. The Tesla app notified me that Tesla and PG&E fixed an issue that was preventing people from enrolling. So I tried again and was approved this morning.

 

[hiddensolar]

Has anyone confirmed that juice points from Enel disqualifies vpp participation? How do you unenroll from juice points?

Thanks!

 

[MY2021f]

Has anyone confirmed that juice points from Enel disqualifies vpp participation? How do you unenroll from juice points?

Thanks!

That's a good question. How do we know what disqualifies you for VPP?