Photo: Tesla
After Texas residents experienced an unprecedented snowstorm and subsequent power outages earlier this year, in which Tesla’s Powerwalls helped many residents during the outages, Tesla has now reportedly filed to become an electricity provider in Texas.
Tesla filed an application with the Texas Public Utility Commission to sell electricity directly to residents of the state, according to CNBC.
The news follows Tesla’s installation of a big battery in Angleton, Texas, which is expected to be able to connect a 100-megawatt energy storage system to Texas’s electrical grid.
The project was filed through a subsidiary of Tesla, Tesla Energy Ventures, and instead of listing Elon Musk on the application, it listed Tesla Energy Ventures President Ana Stewart.
The big battery project itself matches a number of similar projects around the world including those in Geelong in the state of Victoria, Australia, and Adelaide, South Australia.
Tesla Megapack in Victoria, Australia Catches Fire During Trials https://t.co/jIro28Ze1O
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) July 30, 2021
However, this is the first time that Tesla has acted as the energy supplier for a given state or region’s residents, where instead it typically working with other companies on the actual supply to customers. The company did file an application in the UK to supply electricity last year, though its Holes Bay, Dorset project is managed by Fotowatio Renewable Ventures BV and Harmony Energy Ltd.
If the company can gain approval as an electric provide for Texas residents, Tesla Energy Ventures employees in the energy department will be expected to provide sales and service directly to residents within the state.
