An industry trade group is raising concerns that a power-saving program by the state’s largest utility is enjoying “monopoly status” in Vermont.
The concerns come at the same the state has called for an investigation into Green Mountain Power’s Tesla Powerwall program.
Green Mountain Power, which accounts for 83% of the state’s retail electric market, is currently awaiting approval to install 500 more Tesla battery storage systems in customers’ homes.
The units, which are owned by the utility, allow customers to store power from solar or from the grid to help reduce energy use during peak times and to have a reserve for blackouts.
The program also allows the utility to buy back stored power during peak times and has saved customers about $500,000 with the first 2,000 battery systems that have been installed, according to GMP.
Renewable Energy Vermont, on the other hand, says that setup means GMP will be picking the product and setting the price for battery storage systems in Vermont. They say that means the product will have market dominance that will “stifle innovation and impede competition.”
In a filing to the Public Utility Commission, the trade group asked for an investigation into the program before it moves forward approving the additional 500 proposed batteries — a sentiment that has been echoed by the Department of Public Service.
REV says the program “is out of step with other utilities around the country and runs counter to widespread market trends.”
“When one company is deciding the type of product and who installs it, that’s very dangerous,” said Olivia Campbell Andersen, the executive director of REV. “In other states, that’s not allowed.”
She said there’s at least half a dozen types of batteries that do the same thing as the Powerwall. Renewable Energy Vermont said it supported consumer protection and customer choices, comparing the Powerwall situation to a cable network owning your TV and deciding what channels you can watch.
“It’s not good for consumers for monopoly corporations to make this decision for home owners about what products they use and host in their own home or business,” Campbell Andersen said. “It’s not good for ratepayers in the long term, and it’s not good for the Vermont business economy.”
But Green Mountain Power disagrees. They say customers have a wealth of choices, noting that the program would only bring their total to 2,500 customers with Powerwall systems, out of 265,000 customers overall.
GMP President Mary Powell said they also have paid out $225,000 in incentives for customers to buy batteries from local companies as an alternative to the Tesla systems, as well as over 13,000 customers that have gone to local companies to install their own solar power.
“Nothing we’re doing in either of these spaces isn’t a market incentive,” Powell said. “Not only is the product an incentive itself, but it also provides added incentive for the market as a whole.”
Campbell Andersen said in Renewable Energy Vermont’s many meetings with GMP, they’ve had a “very candid dialogue” agreeing about a lot of things, but finding themselves at odds on others. She said this is just one thing they disagree about.
What they do agree on, though, she said, is the benefits of the batteries themselves.
“We don’t want in any way to be negative about the batteries,” Campbell Andersen said. “We just want more people to be able to access the resilience and reliability that home battery systems provide.”
“Our planet is literally on fire,” Powell added. “We’ve got to embrace as many climate solutions as we can as fast as we can.”
