El Paso Electric Company announced on March 5 the completion of its first residential battery installation in El Paso, as part of a new Battery Storage Pilot Program developed with Base Power. The initiative aims to serve customers in areas where expanding traditional electric infrastructure is challenging, while providing backup power during outages.
The pilot program involves networked home battery systems installed at selected customer homes throughout El Paso Electric’s Texas service region. These batteries can supply energy to the grid during periods of high demand, such as extreme summer heat, but still reserve enough power for customers if an outage occurs.
“Today marks a practical milestone for reliability in our region,” said Liz Aragon, Sr. Project Manager of El Paso Electric. “By adding customer-sited batteries that can support the grid when it matters most, we’re building a more resilient grid. One that can respond faster to changing conditions while also improving resiliency for participating households.”
Homeowners who qualify for the program receive whole-home battery backup systems at no cost and may be eligible for up to $500 if they are among the first 500 installations. The batteries will be installed and maintained by Base Power and integrated into El Paso Electric’s operations so they can provide additional capacity when needed.
Base Power was founded in 2023 and works with utilities to deploy distributed battery systems that offer dispatchable capacity and improve reliability. El Paso Electric serves about 465,000 customers across parts of Texas and New Mexico.
This pilot project represents an effort by utilities to find scalable solutions that strengthen electric grids without requiring lengthy infrastructure expansions.
