El Paso Electric Company and Base Power announced on Feb. 10 a new pilot program aimed at strengthening the electric grid by deploying home battery systems in EPE’s Texas service region. The initiative will use residential batteries to provide dispatchable capacity during periods of high electricity demand, while also offering backup power for customers during outages.
The program is designed to address increasing challenges faced by utilities, such as load growth, extreme weather, and infrastructure constraints. By leveraging distributed energy storage, EPE aims to add flexible capacity quickly without the long timelines associated with traditional generation or transmission projects.
Base Power will install and maintain a fleet of networked batteries at qualifying homes. These systems will be integrated into EPE’s operations so that the utility can manage dispatch, scheduling, and performance monitoring directly. According to Kelly Tomblin, CEO of El Paso Electric: “Distributed energy storage is becoming an increasingly important tool for utilities navigating load growth, extreme weather, and infrastructure constraints. 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.”
The pilot was selected through EPE’s Residential Distributed Energy Storage Pilot Program (DESPP), which seeks up to 10 megawatts of new residential storage before the summer peak in 2026. The goal is both to improve system resiliency and address localized capacity constraints.
Zach Dell, CEO of Base Power said: “We’re excited for the opportunity to support EPE in adding flexible, reliable capacity to its system. By aggregating residential batteries into a utility-controlled resource, EPE can strengthen reliability, manage peak demand, and defer costly infrastructure investments – all while providing customers with meaningful outage protection.”
Both companies say this model could be expanded further or adopted by other investor-owned utilities seeking similar solutions that align operational control with regulatory requirements and customer value.
