Tesla Virtual Power Plant in CA

[paladaxar]

Huh…the only notification I got was “dailo posted in a thread…” Nothing from the Tesla app. Good thing I saw your post though, because my powerwall is certainly discharging as part of the event, so I turned off my AC (that had just come on) to contribute as much as possible.

In the app it says it goes from 7:45 to 9pm.

 

[charlesj]

Same here, just noticed this from the above post. Started 7:45PM and will end at 9PM for me.

 

[dailo]

I only knew it was potentially coming up because I have the CAISO app installed and got an alert. I usually get this alert first and then about 10-15 mins later VPP kicks in.

CAISO EEA Watch NOTICE [202302772]

An Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) Watch has been declared for the California ISO for the CAISO Grid,
effective 07/25/2023 19:26 through 07/25/2023 23:59.

Reason:
The ISO is anticipating high loads and temperatures across the |CAISO Grid.

 

[charlesj]

I only knew it was potentially coming up because I have the CAISO app installed and got an alert. I usually get this alert first and then about 10-15 mins later VPP kicks in.

CAISO EEA Watch NOTICE [202302772]

An Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) Watch has been declared for the California ISO for the CAISO Grid,
effective 07/25/2023 19:26 through 07/25/2023 23:59.

Reason:
The ISO is anticipating high loads and temperatures across the |CAISO Grid.

Do you have a link to that app and how is that notification come through, by sound as well?
Tesla is silent even though audio is on.

 

[dailo]

Do you have a link to that app and how is that notification come through, by sound as well?
Tesla is silent even though audio is on.

You should get an audio alert also, at least through the iOS notification settings.

‎ISO Today

‎Monitor California ISO power grid conditions, prices and renewable production, receive alerts and track calendar events with this free mobile application. ISO Today brings the world of energy data and news to your fingertips. Features: • Monitor available resource adequacy capacity to identify...

apps.apple.com

 

[dailo]

Last time the demand trend highlighted the response event, but that was a EEA1 alert vs today is EEA Watch.

 

[paladaxar]

TIL: CAISO has an app Who knew?

 

[Tim-in-CA]

My second VPP event with 1 minute notice. Had to set battery to 5% so I could export.

 

[Tim-in-CA]

TIL: CAISO has an app Who knew?

Yes, I got an SCE alert about 1 minute before VPP notification from Tesla.

 

[sorka]

A little over $29 this time.

 

[paladaxar]

A little over $29 this time.

About $18 for me this time with 2 powerwalls. Do you have 3 sorka?

 

[holeydonut]

Whoa how did I get enrolled in a VPP?????

My app now says I'm part of Sunrun Peak Power rewards. Apparently I get a $750 flat spiff for participation on top of the peak-time-export NEM credits banked during peak time. They don't seem to compensate per VPP. They just give a bonus for participating at all.

Of course if I can't use these peak export credits then I'm SOL. Good thing I got two non-Tesla BEVs again to use these precious suds.

 

[Tim-in-CA]

About $18 for me this time with 2 powerwalls. Do you have 3 sorka?

Same with 2 powerwalls. Had to set reserve to 5% and turn off AC to get maximum. Charging the powerwalls back up to 50% from the grid and cranking the AC. A little notice would have been nice.

 

[aesculus]

FWIW I had turned VPP off just after the last event and did not receive a notice of this event. So it it's off, Tesla does not alert you of the event it appears. So if you did want to participate, you would have to be notified via a different source.

 

[miimura]

I finally got the Enel Demand Response program (JuicePoints) off my account, so I just tried enrolling in the VPP again. Hopefully it will go through now.

 

[holeydonut]

I forget, were these VPP things reported as taxable income? If Sunrun really pays $750 a year for these things, it'd be like a free Powerwall after 8 years!

But with taxes it'd be like 16 years

 

[Redhill_qik]

Same with 2 powerwalls. Had to set reserve to 5% and turn off AC to get maximum. Charging the powerwalls back up to 50% from the grid and cranking the AC. A little notice would have been nice.

The VPP compensation is based on difference for the PowerWall exports during the VPP event versus the baseline period in the days prior to the event (the 10 weekdays or the 4 weekend days). Reducing your AC usage during the VPP event helps the grid, but it does not change your VPP compensation.

 

[holeydonut]

The VPP compensation is based on difference for the PowerWall exports during the VPP event versus the baseline period in the days prior to the event (the 10 weekdays or the 4 weekend days). Reducing your AC usage during the VPP event helps the grid, but it does not change your VPP compensation.

That is like... wacky math. It incentivizes people to set their Powerwalls to 100% on the 10 weekdays + 4 weekends before a VPP. So when they run their ACs on those non VPP days, they don't use any Powerwall energy. Then during the VPP the Powerwalls are allowed to do a full export. The difference between the control and VPP event is maximized.

I kind of like what Sunrun is doing where they just give a flat $250 per year for however many Powerwalls were installed regardless of their exported kWh during the entire VPP season. And I guess the homeowner gets the benefit of the NEM credits too.

 

[swedge]

VPP event last night was not announced early enough to be fully charged. Strange. I hope in the future they will give advanced warning.

My single PW is set to Export Everything, and these days dumps about 30% onto the grid during the 4-9 pm peak period. If a VPP event is announced in advance, I might even prefer to draw during the peak to cover the house consumption so as to have a full charge for the event.

Is anyone keeping or publishing a log of these events? I think I found one last year, but I don't recall where.

 

[swedge]

That is like... wacky math. It incentivizes people to set their Powerwalls to 100% on the 10 weekdays + 4 weekends before a VPP. So when they run their ACs on those non VPP days, they don't use any Powerwall energy. Then during the VPP the Powerwalls are allowed to do a full export. The difference between the control and VPP event is maximized.

I kind of like what Sunrun is doing where they just give a flat $250 per year for however many Powerwalls were installed regardless of their exported kWh during the entire VPP season. And I guess the homeowner gets the benefit of the NEM credits too.

It did not seem to work that way for me last year. When I got the check for last year, I went back and added up my export during the events. The compensation was $2 per kWh. And I was also compensated at the usual NEM retail rate for those exports.

Perhaps, the VPP export is compared with normal export but during the same time window as the VPP event. They were mostly late in the day, after solar export and after my Export Everything usually ended.