Green Mountain Power is offering Tesla Powerwall 2.0 batteries to 100 eligible customers, free of charge. A $150,000 grant from the Vermont Low Income Trust for Electricity (VLITE) will pay for the cutting-edge technology and installation in the homes of low-income customers with significant need for backup power reliability due to health and mobility issues. GMP is reaching out to customers who qualify.
Tesla Powerwall batteries provide backup power like a standard generator, but Powerwalls turn on seamlessly and are cleaner. They can be charged from power off the grid, or with a customer’s own home solar array and offer eight to 12 hours of energy.
“This is a great opportunity to work together to help our neighbors,” said Mary Powell, GMP’s president and CEO. “The grant from VLITE will help with reliability during outages and allow these customers to join GMP’s ongoing Powerwall program which is providing convenience and comfort all while transforming the power grid and driving down costs for all the customers we serve.”
GMP’s Powerwall program is scheduled to deploy 2,000 batteries. Customers pay $15 per month per battery, or a one-time payment of $1,500. This VLITE grant will set aside 100 batteries and cover the cost, free, for customers in need.
“GMP’s innovative program will make a meaningful difference for these customers and we’re so glad this grant will help,” said Dick Marron, chair of VLITE’s board of directors. “We are proud of this type of partnership and the benefits it can provide.”
All GMP customers benefit from this network of stored energy. GMP uses it to offset costs during times of peak power demand. For example, during the July heat wave, this stored energy helped cut $500,000 in costs for all GMP customers.
