EL PASO, Texas (KVIA)- El Paso Electric (EPE) and Base Power announced Tuesday a new program that would allow El Paso Electric to install batteries in households, easing the demand of the grid during high electricity demand.<\/p>\n
According to EPE, the batteries will be installed at qualifying residential customer homes and integrated into EPE\u2019s system to deliver reliable grid services during periods of high demand, while preserving backup power for customers during outages.<\/p>\n
The partnership was selected through EPE\u2019s Residential Distributed Energy Storage Pilot Program (DESPP), which seeks to bring up to 10 MW of residential energy storage online ahead of the 2026 summer peak to address localized capacity constraints and improve system resiliency according to EPE.<\/p>\n
\u201cDistributed energy storage is becoming an increasingly important tool for utilities navigating load growth, extreme weather, and infrastructure constraints,\u201d said\u00a0Kelly Tomblin, CEO of El Paso Electric. \u201cThis partnership with Base Power allows us to add flexible, cost-effective capacity where it\u2019s needed most, while maintaining operational control and delivering tangible reliability benefits for our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n
EPE says the company will manage the battery fleet, including dispatch, scheduling, and performance monitoring. While Base Power is responsible for system installation and ongoing maintenance, enabling EPE to deploy capacity efficiently without adding operational complexity. The battery systems are designed to operate independently of any existing solar systems at participating homes, according to EPE.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re excited for the opportunity to support EPE in adding flexible, reliable capacity to its system,\u201d said\u00a0Zach Dell, CEO of Base Power. \u201cBy aggregating residential batteries into a utility-controlled resource, EPE can strengthen reliability, manage peak demand, and defer costly infrastructure investments – all while providing customers with meaningful outage protection.\u201d<\/p>\n