Transcript:

Some homeowners buy backup generators so they have power when the grid goes down. In Vermont, a utility-run program helps people get batteries instead.

And that makes individual homes – and the entire grid – more resilient.

Belur: “So it was a beautiful win-win.”

Raghu Belur is with Enphase Energy. His company sells home batteries to Green Mountain Power in bulk. The utility then leases them to residents.

The batteries charge when energy is cheap and abundant – either from rooftop solar or the grid.

Then, during a grid outage, the batteries can power the individual homes directly.

Belur: “You can have a multiday outage as an example, and if you have solar and if you have battery, then you can really ride through that outage.”

The rest of the time, the batteries are available to the utility for grid support.

During peak demand – like on a hot afternoon when lots of people crank the AC – the utility can draw energy from all the leased batteries. That helps the utility rely less on polluting and expensive energy sources to meet the demand.

So Belur says these batteries make homes more resilient to extreme weather and help create a cleaner, more stable energy system for all.

Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media