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Green Mountain Power, which covers most of Vermont, has been an innovative utility in many ways – partly because it’s pretty small, which makes it cheaper to try stuff.

Two years ago it began subsidizing Tesla batteries for customers’ homes as long as they gave the utility the ability to use them on occasion to store or draw power – in other words, these created a virtual energy-storage system. GMP later claimed it saved $500,000 in the hot 2018 summer using the system to save off the top of peak electricity demand, which is very expensive.

The utility has just gotten regulatory permission to expand the program to another 5 MW or 500 customers. They don’t have to use Tesla batteries, either; it’s BYOB.

In New Hampshire, Liberty Utilities is rolling out a similar pilot program around Hanover, limited to 200 batteries. It has a twist: They also got permission to install the state’s first time-of-use rates.

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