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Innovative Battery Programs Benefit All Customers, Cut Costs and Carbon While Strengthening Grid and Boosting Resiliency
Vermont Business Magazine During the recent hot weather as temperatures soared into the nineties across many parts of Vermont and New England, Green Mountain Power (GMP) partnered with customers to leverage innovative energy storage initiatives to reduce peak energy costs and carbon emissions, all while keeping customers comfortable during extreme heat.
If last week stands as the New England peak, GMP’s pioneering and growing network of home batteries helped reduce about $1.2 million in costs for customers while cutting power demand during the intense heat.
By putting that stored energy back on the grid, GMP did not have to buy extra power from the regional grid during those peak energy times when it’s more expensive, which saves customers money. GMP customers were not asked to reduce power use during this time – they could use the energy they needed to stay comfortable and safe during the heat, without limitations.
GMP leveraged all the innovative devices they have deployed with customers including home batteries, grid-scale batteries at solar sites, and carbon-reducing devices like electric vehicle smart chargers. All combined with local renewable energy it was the equivalent of taking about 50,000 homes off the grid during the peak.
“This is the critical energy transition working in real-time,” said GMP president and CEO Mari McClure. “In partnership with our customers, we are directly offsetting costs from the region, while providing important home and community-based resilience that is ready to respond to climate change.”
Already GMP’s industry-leading battery programs have saved customers $3 million a year for the last several years. And as Vermont sees more extreme weather due to climate change, battery storage will continue to be key. GMP is also working on several resiliency and system hardening projects as part of its proactive Climate Plan. The work will help communities prepare to stand up to the increasing number of severe storms. Storage through GMP’s programs also helps create a more flexible grid that enables more local renewables.
“I love being part of GMP’s energy storage program because it helps everyone. It benefits me year-round because I stay powered up during storms, and it also helps my neighbors and friends,” said GMP customer Lorrie Byrom in Pittsford. “I like knowing that on those hot days my battery was going back to the grid, helping reduce demand, which in turn lowers costs. Through sharing, innovation, and great partners like GMP, we are making a difference in Vermont.”
GMP is the first utility in the country to offer full, regulator-approved home battery programs to customers. Participants get discounted home energy storage for seamless backup power during storms, and customers agree to share stored energy with all customers during energy peaks. GMP’s programs include The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), Enphase, and Powerwall programs and GMP works with commercial customers on custom battery solutions for their businesses.
About Green Mountain Power
Green Mountain Power serves approximately 270,000 residential and business customers in Vermont and is partnering with them to improve lives and transform communities. GMP is providing solutions to cut carbon and deliver electricity that is clean, affordable, and always on. 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. In 2022, GMP was named to TIME’s list of the 100 Most Influential Companies. Fast Company named GMP one of the top five Most Innovative Companies in North America in 2022. GMP also earned a spot on Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in the World list in the energy sector four years in a row, the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA ) honored GMP as a nationwide leader in energy transformation.
COLCHESTER, Vt. – GMP 7.27.2022
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