Tesla Virtual Power Plant Powered by GVEC Peak-Time Payback

Join the Tesla Virtual Power Plant (VPP) and support the GVEC grid while earning money and maintaining your energy security. Learn about the benefits, eligibility, requirements, compensation and more.

• Overview
• Benefits
• Eligibility
• Enrollment
• Membership
• Compensation
• Frequently Asked Questions

Overview of the Program

The Tesla Virtual Power Plant (VPP) connects communities of homes with Powerwall to enhance GVEC’s grid reliability and resiliency. By joining the Tesla VPP program, your Powerwall will support the grid by discharging excess energy when it’s needed the most. Earn up to $220 per installed kilowatt (kW) as an initial enrollment incentive, in addition to $75 per kW in ongoing annual incentives.  Estimated earnings of an initial $2,530 incentive and $862.50 of annual incentives are based on nameplate capacity of a single Powerwall 3 that is installed after January 1, 2025.  During your participation, your VPP Backup Reserve will be set at 30% ensuring adequate stored energy in case of an outage.

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Benefits

• Earn Compensation: Earn an initial incentive of up to $2,530 for each Powerwall 3. This is in addition to an ongoing annual incentive, of up to $862.50 for each Powerwall 3 paid in monthly installments. If you have Powerwall 2 installed, read the section about compensation below for more information on the incentives you could be eligible for. Learn More
• Maintain Your Energy Security: Powerwall will never discharge below 30% of the total battery energy capacity, allowing you to maintain backup energy during outages.
• Stabilize GVEC’s Grid: The extra capacity your Powerwall provides can help reduce costs and avoid or reduce blackouts in a severe emergency.
• Unite as a Tesla Community: Team up with other Powerwall owners in your utility’s service territory to build a more reliable grid.

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Eligibility

Powerwall owners are eligible to participate if you:

• Are a valid GVEC member with an active electric service account in good standing
• Have a valid Interconnection Agreement in place with GVEC
• Own the property on which the eligible BESS is located
• Are NOT on GVEC’s time-of-use rate option

Sign up through the Tesla app and your eligibility will be reviewed. If eligible, you will automatically be enrolled.

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Your application will now undergo review by GVEC. You will be notified once your application has been approved from the Tesla app.

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Membership

Upon enrollment, your utility and Tesla will call upon the VPP when the grid operator needs additional capacity. The number of events will depend on weather patterns and demand throughout the year. GVEC may call events daily but not to exceed one event per day on average.

What to Expect 

On a day-to-day basis, the program is letting ERCOT, the Texas grid operator, know what available energy capacity you have in your battery based upon your forecasted normal usage. When the additional capacity of your Powerwall is needed, your Powerwall will be dispatched along with others in your community to support the grid but never below your VPP Backup Reserve.

By participating in this VPP, you are getting paid a fixed capacity payment from GVEC for having power available to be deployed when there is strain on the grid. There may be times when the VPP has made a capacity commitment, and your Powerwall is unable to discharge in its normal manner except in the case of a grid outage.

Controlling Your Participation

Powerwall has settings that help manage your VPP participation:

1. VPP Backup Reserve: There is a separate VPP Backup Reserve setting to control your energy contribution for this program. Your VPP Backup Reserve will be set to 30% for this program, ensuring you always have energy for your individual needs.
2. Storm Watch: Storm Watch mode is triggered only during severe weather events. Enable this feature in your Tesla app to ensure that your Powerwall has enough stored energy to power your home in the event of a grid outage.

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Compensation

A sign-up incentive of $2,530 is available for each Powerwall 3 installed after January 1, 2025. For Powerwall installed before 2025, the sign-up incentive is $862.50 for each Powerwall 3 or $375 for each Powerwall 2. In addition, regardless of when your battery was installed, earn $862.50 per year in monthly bill credits for each Powerwall 3 or $375 per year in monthly bill credits for each Powerwall 2 for your ongoing participation.

Note: The larger sign-up incentive for Powerwall batteries installed after January 1, 2025 requires a five-year participation commitment. For more details review the GVEC’s Program Terms.

Payment

The sign-up incentive for systems installed after January 1, 2025 may be credited to the member’s electric service account, credited as a prepayment to the member’s loan balance (if applicable), or issued as a check. This request will be processed within six to eight weeks after the member’s eligibility is confirmed.

The sign-up incentive for systems installed before January 1, 2025 will be credited to the member’s electric service account within six to eight weeks after enrollment.

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Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative (GVEC) Peak-Time Payback Participation Agreement

Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative (“GVEC”) created a virtual power plant (“VPP”) program called GVEC Peak-Time Payback (the “Program”) to help lower the overall demand for electricity during peak times (days/hours where the highest levels of energy use occur), supported by Tesla, Inc. (“Tesla”). This program compensates eligible customers for decreasing energy consumption using their Tesla Powerwall(s). Tesla, Inc. (“Tesla”) supports this Program, which is open to customers with one or more eligible Tesla Powerwall(s) (each, a “Device”) that Tesla will control during demand response events (each, an “Event”). Your participation is subject to your agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions with Tesla (“Terms”). By clicking “Accept Enrollment” you (“You” or “Participant”) acknowledge that You have read these Terms and agree to be legally bound by them.

1. Eligibility and Enrollment
   Upon completing the necessary information and agreeing to the Terms, Tesla will submit Your application to Your Utility. Your Utility in its sole discretion shall accept or reject Your participation in the Program. Eligibility criteria includes, at a minimum, that you:
   a.Are at least 18 years of age
   b. End-user must have an residential electric account in good standing with GVEC
   c. End-User must have a complete interconnection application for BESS with GVEC and remain compliant with interconnection requirements
   d. Have authority to control the Device as set out in Section 2
2. Authority
   You should not participate in the Program unless You have the authority to control the Device(s) and are the customer of record for the utility account associated with the address at which the Device is installed (“Customer of Record”). By accepting these Terms, You confirm that You have the authority to control the Device and are the Customer of Record, and that Tesla and GVEC can rely on those confirmations in connection with the Program.
3. Grant Of Control Over Your Device
   By accepting these Terms, You grant Tesla remote access to control the enrolled Device to automatically charge and/or discharge the Device, during an Event. Tesla may charge or discharge Your Device at any time and to any level but will make efforts to respect Your preferences as configured in the Tesla app, like VPP Backup Reserve During Events and Event opt out, as applicable. 
4. Term
   This Agreement will commence upon the date that You accept these terms and conditions and will continue for 1 year (the “Term”). Thereafter, the Term shall automatically be extended for additional renewal terms of one (1) year each, each anniversary thereof, until either You or Tesla terminates this Agreement as allowed under these Terms.
5. Program Events
   Events will be called subject to the “Program Rules,” which you will be required to review and accept in accordance with this Agreement and a copy of which may be found by clicking the link at the bottom of this page with link title: “Program Terms”. Tesla will control the Device to respond during Events and will make reasonable efforts to maximize performance within Your preferences as configured in the Tesla app.
6. Compensation
   The Program provides compensation for each Powerwall enrolled and participating in the Program. You acknowledge and agree that Tesla does not guarantee any specific level of compensation from Your participation. The calculation of the performance and compensation is defined by GVEC in the Program Rules published on their website. You agree that GVEC will provide payment to You (“Compensation”) for Your Device’s participation in the VPP. The Compensation payments referenced herein, if any, are the only compensation that You will receive from Tesla or GVEC for participating in the Program. You are responsible for all other costs of participating in the Program, including, but not limited to Your cost of electricity to charge Your Device as well as for the general use of Your Device.
7. Your Device Data and Other Information
   Participation in the Program means that the GVEC and Tesla will have access to certain types of Your personal identifiable information and energy use data, including, but not limited to, Your name, address, energy usage, utility account number, Device information, data generated from the Program and other personal information, collectively referred to as Confidential Information. You authorize GVEC and Tesla, and their respective employees and representatives, to use and exchange the Confidential Information to administer the Program and in accordance with Tesla’s Customer Privacy Policy, as applicable. (Even though this policy is a separate document from these Terms, it is considered part of these Terms). You further authorize Tesla and GVEC to provide Your Confidential Information to relevant regulatory bodies upon their valid, legal request or as otherwise required by law. You also authorize Tesla or GVEC to use or share Confidential Information that is anonymized without further need for Your consent provided that it does not contain any of Your personal identifiable information.
8. Program Communications
   By accepting these terms and conditions, you consent to Tesla, your Utility and other Program agents communicating with you for the purpose of enrolling you and managing your participation in the Program by email, SMS or telephone, including without limitation placing calls to wireless and other phone numbers using automatic dialing systems and recorded voice technology, notwithstanding any registration pursuant to federal, state or local Do-Not-Call lists or similar registries.
9. Enrollment Into Other VPP Programs
   You agree that Your enrollment into the Program means that You are interested in participating in Virtual Power Plant programs. You grant Tesla the right to apply on Your behalf, unenroll You from programs and enroll you in alternative or follow-on VPP programs that are, in Tesla’s sole discretion, similar to the Program. If this occurs, Tesla will notify You of the change, and provide You with an option to unenroll.
10. No Warranty; Disclaimer
    Tesla expressly disclaims all warranties of any kind relating to this Program, whether express, implied or statutory including but not limited to any implied warranties for conditions, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, non-infringement or misappropriation of intellectual property rights.
11. Limitation of Liability
    In no event will Tesla be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages arising in connection with the Program, including but not limited to, Your Device’s reduced charge during a power outage causing a loss of power or any other loss of power. If You are dissatisfied with the Program, any of these Terms, or believe Tesla has breached these Terms, Your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue participation in the Program.
12. Termination
    You agree that either of us may choose to terminate Your participation in the Program, at any time and for any reason. If Tesla elects to terminate Your participation in the Program, Tesla will provide You with [5] days' written notice to the email address You maintain with Tesla in Your Tesla app. If You elect to terminate Your enrollment in the Program, you may do so by contacting vppsupport@tesla.com and termination will be effective within [5] days of processing Your request.
13. General
    i. Entire Agreement. Except as otherwise stated herein, these terms and the Program Rules constitute the entire Agreement between You and Tesla concerning the Program.
    ii. No Assignment. You may not assign this Agreement without Tesla’s prior written consent.
    iii. Severability and Waiver. If any provision herein is invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.
    iv. Survival. Termination of the Program will not affect any obligations and rights under this Agreement, including Sections 7, 8, 10, 12 and 13, which are intended to survive such termination.
    v. Governing Law. This Agreement is governed by California law.
    vi. Amendments. This Agreement may be amended by Tesla from time to time upon 5 days’ written notice to the email address You maintain with Tesla in the Tesla app with reference on the pilot support page which can be accessed through Tesla app.
14. Tesla Arbitration Requirement
    Agreement to Arbitrate
    Read this part carefully because it means you are agreeing that any unresolved dispute between you and Tesla will not be decided by a judge or jury in a public courtroom, but instead by a single arbitrator in a private arbitration.
    
    If you have a dispute arising out of or relating to any aspect of this Agreement and the relationship between you and Tesla, Inc. or its affiliates (which we call “Tesla”), send us an email to resolutions@tesla.com, describing your dispute and how you would like it resolved. If it is not resolved within 60 days from the date of your email, you agree that your dispute can only be resolved by a single arbitrator in an arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules. This includes claims arising before you ordered your System (such as claims related to statements Tesla made about our products). We will pay all AAA fees for any arbitration, which will be held in the city or county of your legal residence. To learn more about the Rules and how to begin an arbitration, you can call any AAA office or go to www.adr.org. The arbitrator can only resolve disputes between you and Tesla, and cannot consolidate claims from others without consent from you, Tesla, and the others. You can only bring claims in arbitration against Tesla in your individual capacity and not as a plaintiff or class member in any class or representative action (and the same is true for Tesla). If a court or arbitrator decides that any part of this agreement to arbitrate cannot be enforced as to a specific claim for relief or remedy (such as what lawyers call “injunctive” or “declaratory” relief), then that claim or remedy (and only that claim or remedy) will be carved out of the arbitration and can be filed in court; all other claims must be arbitrated. If you prefer, you can take your individual dispute to a small claims court instead. If you don’t want to agree to arbitration, you can “opt out” of arbitration by sending us a letter within 30 days after placing your initial order for your System. Send the letter to Tesla, Inc.; P.O. Box 15430; Fremont, CA 94539-7970 and include your name, your order number, the name of the product you ordered and a statement explaining your desire to opt out of arbitration. If you do not opt out, your agreement to arbitrate overrides any different arbitration agreement between us, including any arbitration agreement in a lease or finance contract.

GVEC Peak Time Payback Terms and Conditions

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