COLCHESTER, Vt., May 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Green Mountain Power (GMP) is launching a revolutionary energy delivery system to provide customers increased resiliency during outages, while also adding convenience and helping them cut carbon. The Resilient Home program uses a patent-pending approach to energy delivery, so customers can use a battery system for reliability and to measure their energy usage. Customers can say goodbye to relying on a traditional meter to measure power use, and say hello to the comfort and convenience that home battery backup power brings.
Customers enrolled in the Resilient Home program can either get two Tesla Powerwall batteries for $30 a month or can choose to work with a Powerwall retailer in Vermont and get a battery system under GMP’s Bring Your Own Device program. The batteries provide whole-home backup power, switching on seamlessly during outages like a generator, but without the fossil fuel. GMP’s patent-pending approach also means the batteries can act as the meter for the home, giving customers dual benefits, and leapfrogging the decades-old utility practice of using a traditional, single-purpose meter to count up power use.
“As climate change impacts accelerate, we all must act and continue to innovate dramatic shifts in energy delivery that help customers, and GMP, to drive down carbon emissions,” said Mary Powell, President and CEO of Green Mountain Power. “We have a vision of a battery system in every single home. Our Resilient Home pilot program does this by breaking the old utility mold – transforming the way energy is delivered to customers, increasing their comfort and convenience in the face of increasing severity and frequency of storms in Vermont due to climate change.”
Customers joining the Resilient Home pilot program can get an extra option on top of the comfort of backup power and the convenience of the Resilient Home program’s dual-benefit batteries acting as the meter - subscription pricing for power. Customers in the pilot program can choose a convenient, flat monthly price for power, and lock it in for a year.
“Subscription pricing is an exciting option for customers, that offers them an extra level of convenience and predictability,” said GMP Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer Josh Castonguay, who also leads Power Supply for the company. “And from an innovation perspective, the most amazing part of this shift to battery-as-meter is that storage devices, like the Powerwall, have already proven incredibly useful in allowing us to manage the entire grid more effectively when you’re considering carbon and cost.” Last summer, GMP’s network of stored energy saved customers more than $500,000 in a single day when the company used that shared power to drive down demand on the grid during the annual New England peak.
Customers joining Resilient Home agree to share stored energy with GMP on several peak demand days each year. This program will also accelerate the Vermont competitive technology marketplace by ensuring that customers are “adoption ready” for solar and smart devices as well as allowing space for other storage providers to step in and work with GMP to utilize their devices to work in this new environment.
“It is great to see how much progress is being made by EEI’s member companies to innovate and transform to deliver a clean energy future for customers. Green Mountain Power is part of revolutionizing the business, and is proving that out-of-the-box thinking is not only critical for achieving clean energy goals, but also possible,” said Tom Kuhn, President of the Edison Electric Institute. “This innovation is a huge jump forward into the resilient, distributed energy grid we need as we move to provide more renewable energy for customers, and it also shows that electric companies are a key part of that solution,” Kuhn said.
Space in GMP’s Resilient Home pilot program is limited. GMP can enroll 250 customers on a first come, first served basis and based on regular calls and emails from customers, those spots are expected to fill very quickly. But, other Vermont renewable energy companies also have 250 spots. Customers can buy two Powerwalls through them, and join Resilient Home by enrolling in GMP’s Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program, which offers customers financial incentives to help with their battery purchases.
“Partnering with customers on innovation like this is how we can help each other take on climate change and win. We have no time to lose,” said Powell, who recently announced a commitment to get GMP’s power supply to 100% renewable by 2030.
More on the Resilient Home pilot program:
https://greenmountainpower.com/product/powerwall/
More on GMP’s Bring Your Own Device program:
https://greenmountainpower.com/bring-your-own-device/
Renewable Energy Vermont can help you find a Vermont Powerwall retailer: https://www.revermont.org/gmp-battery-incentive-bring-your-own-device/
About Green Mountain Power
Green Mountain Power (GMP) serves approximately 265,000 residential and business customers in Vermont and is partnering with them to improve lives and transform communities. GMP is focused on a new way of doing business to meet the needs of customers with integrated energy services that help people use less energy and save money, while continuing to generate clean, cost-effective and reliable power in Vermont. GMP earned a spot on Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in the World list three years in a row (2017, 2018, 2019). GMP is the first utility in the world to get a B Corp certification, meeting rigorous social, environmental, accountability and transparency standards and committing to use business as a force for good. J.D. Power’s 2018 rankings put GMP among top utilities for customer satisfaction.
Media Contact
Kristin Kelly, (802) 318-0872
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ab252833-427e-4f14-8fd5-0b66a9ddfce6