California

Tesla Expands its Virtual Power Plant to Southern California

Photo: Tesla

Tesla is expanding its Virtual Power Plant to Southern California. Now even more participants will be able to take part in stabilizing the state's grid while receiving rewards.

Tesla continues to roll out its efforts to help California. The company expanded its program to stabilize the state's power grid to Southern California. Tesla invited the local population to become a member of “the Emergency Load Reduction Program (ELRP) pilot offered by Southern California Edison (SCE) and support the grid while also earning compensation and maintaining your energy security,” according to the manufacturer's website.

Tesla is committed to building the world's largest distributed battery that will keep California's power supply clean and reliable. Those who choose to become a member of the Tesla Virtual Power Plant (VPP) program with SCE will provide power from their Powerwall when the grid needs emergency support. As part of the ELRP pilot project, attendees will receive $2 for each additional kWh that their Powerwall delivers during an event. Owners will be able to set up their Backup Reserve to conserve backup energy for their home in case of events.

Tesla launched a similar beta program with PG&E last July. However, back then it was a voluntary program with no payouts. Starting in June, by paying out a cash stimulus, the program has become big enough to become an important backup energy source in California. According to the description on Tesla's website, participants will help shape the world's largest distributed battery—potentially over 50,000 Powerwalls. This VPP can replace gas-fired power plants that typically plug into the grid to provide extra power when demand for electricity starts to outstrip supply.

© 2022, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.

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About the Author

Eva Fox

Eva Fox

Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.

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