GVEC lands a landmark partnership with Tesla

Seguin, TX, USA / Seguin Today
Cindy Aguirre

(Guadalupe County) — GVEC is announcing a landmark partnership with Tesla.

The partnership is making the electric co-op the first in Texas to participate with Tesla as a utility-scale virtual power plant resource in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) Aggregated Distributed Energy Resource (ADER) pilot program.

Through the ADER program, the integration of distributed energy resources (DERs), such as battery storage systems and other controllable devices, is being explored as dispatchable generation into the Texas wholesale energy market to improve year-round grid stability and reliability.

Celebrating the news is GVEC General Manager and CEO Darren Schauer.

“Tesla has been a major player in the ADER pilot program since its inception. They are a highly visible company with the capabilities and expertise to meet the robust participation requirements. As an additional benefit, GVEC can offer ancillary services directly onto the market. This means GVEC Powerwall members can now support the needs of the Texas grid while also creating a new revenue stream to reinforce the long-term financial strength of their member-owned cooperative. Schauer adds, “This partnership is a strong addition to the proactive steps GVEC has already taken to expand DER programs for our members. As opportunities and technologies continue to evolve, GVEC will continue to seek new ways to spur the advancement of impactful solutions for the Cooperative, our members, and the electric industry.”

Schauer says because of the value that this creates for GVEC, they can share this benefit with its membership.

“We are able to share that with our membership and help to discount the batteries or to provide rebates to the members, to encourage them to install the batteries and encourage them to allow us to have access to them. With those incentives that we are able to provide, we can get batteries into homes of members with very little costs. So, they have the benefit of having a backup energy in their home – the Tesla Powerwall batteries in their homes — so if there happens to be a power outage, the battery is there to back their home up and when they are not using them, then GVEC can have access to them to help reduce demand on the system,” said Schauer.

The Cooperative delivers electricity, internet, AC and Heating, solar and battery and electrician services to over 130,000 customers covering a 3,200 square mile span of South-Central Texas.

With growing consumer interest in alternative energy sources, GVEC expanded its offerings to become a certified installer of Tesla battery systems in 2019, and sales have been increasing year after year.

With the advanced systems, supportive customers, and this new agreement in place, Tesla and GVEC are working together to not only satisfy consumer needs through battery sales but also present an innovative demand-side industry solution – a solution he encourages more people to consider.

“So, if members are interested in participating – if they already have a battery, they just need to give us a call at 1-800-223-GVEC. If they are interested in inquiring a battery or having us install a battery  for them, they can call the same number and we will send a technician out and give them a quote on what it will take to get the battery installed or find a location inside of their garage or on the side of their house or they can install the battery and we will just work with them and provide them all the information about the rebates and the ongoing rebates that we have to really help to reduce the cost to them so they can gain access to these batteries,” said Schauer.

Recent updates show the ADER program has registered approximately 17 megawatts in generation from companies like Tesla with their residential battery customers. GVEC members are incentivized to join the program through rebates provided upfront upon registration in its Peak-Time Payback, or PTP program, then an on-going annual rebate each year of participation.

Through PTP, during times of high demand or as regularly scheduled throughout the year, GVEC, in conjunction with Tesla, can access up to 70 percent of the total capacity of each battery system to discharge back into the home, reducing or eliminating the home’s reliance on the grid or send electrons directly to the grid once local demand is met.

Discharge events will not take place during extreme weather conditions or outage situations, ensuring members have backup power when needed.

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