Electricity retailer Vistra is expanding its battery aggregation program to include Enphase Energy‘s IQ Batteries for residential virtual power plant (VPP) purposes. The program, Battery Rewards, is offered through Vistra’s flagship retail electricity brand, TXU Energy, and lets eligible Enphase customers earn incentives by exporting stored battery power to the grid during periods of high demand.
Enphase IQ batteries.
Through Battery Rewards, Vistra aggregates energy from participating customer-owned residential batteries and dispatches it to the Texas grid at times of energy demand. By harnessing flexible distributed energy resources, the program helps manage peak demand.
“As Texas continues to expect rapid load growth, demand-side solutions are becoming increasingly important,” said Sam Sen, Vistra’s VP of energy transition solutions. “By bringing additional flexible resources like batteries online during critical periods, we can strengthen grid reliability and serve more load using the infrastructure already in place.”
TXU Energy customers who enroll in Battery Rewards and own an Enphase IQ Battery will receive financial incentives for participating while maintaining control of their systems during local power outages. Participants can continue to earn bill credits for solar energy exports through TXU Energy’s solar buyback plans.
“The pace of energy demand growth in Texas is unlike anything we’ve seen before, especially as more people move to the state, and industries from manufacturing to technology are all growing,” said Marco Krapels, chief marketing officer and head of global energy markets at Enphase Energy. “Through our partnership with Vistra, flexible, distributed energy resources like Enphase home battery systems can help supply this demand when and where it’s needed most, while homeowners are compensated and retain backup power and control when it matters most.”
News item from Vistra
