El Paso Electric Company (EPE) and Base Power announced a new pilot program that will use home battery systems to help ease strain and strengthen the grid during times of high electricity demand.
The program represents a scalable model for utilities seeking to add flexible, customer-sited capacity to the grid on significantly shorter timelines than traditional generation or transmission buildout.
Through the program, Base Power will deploy a fleet of networked residential battery systems in EPE’s Texas service region, providing EPE with dispatchable capacity to support the grid during periods of high electricity demand and strengthen grid infrastructure.
The batteries will be installed at qualifying residential customer homes and integrated into EPE’s system to deliver reliable grid services during periods of high demand, while preserving backup power for customers during outages.
The partnership was selected through EPE’s Residential Distributed Energy Storage Pilot Program, which seeks to bring up to 10 megawatts (MW) of residential energy storage online ahead of the 2026 summer peak to address localized capacity constraints and improve system resiliency.
“Distributed energy storage is becoming an increasingly important tool for utilities navigating load growth, extreme weather, and infrastructure constraints,” said Kelly Tomblin, CEO of El Paso Electric, in a statement. “This partnership with Base Power allows us to add flexible, cost-effective capacity where it’s needed most, while maintaining operational control and delivering tangible reliability benefits for our customers.”
Under the program, EPE will manage the battery fleet, including dispatch, scheduling, and performance monitoring.
Base Power is responsible for system installation and ongoing maintenance, enabling EPE to deploy capacity efficiently without adding operational complexity.
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