Tesla will now be able to sell electricity to retail customers in Texas after a request was approved by the state’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC).
PUC announced it has issued a retail electric provider (REP) certificate to the company’s Tesla Energy Ventures subsidiary to provide retail electric services throughout the area covered by the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which serves more than 80% of the state’s electric load.
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According to PUC, REPs buy wholesale electricity, delivery service and related services, price electricity for customers, and seek customers to buy electricity at retail.
When the application was filed in August, sister site Energy-Storage.news reported that two Tesla Energy Ventures affiliates were listed as certified to provide electric service in Texas: Gambit Energy Storage and Giga Texas Energy. Reports suggest that Gambit Energy Storage is currently constructing a 100MW energy storage project in Texas.
Tesla Energy Ventures’ approval to sell electricity in Texas comes at a time when the state’s grid is under scrutiny following a winter storm earlier this year that left millions without power.
Speaking to investors following the publication of Tesla’s Q1 financial results in April, CEO Elon Musk said: “We’re seeing more extreme weather events. This is a recipe for disaster. So it is very important to have solar and batteries at the local level, at the house. In addition, it is important to have large battery storage at the utility level.”
Publishing its Q3 results last month, Tesla revealed it installed 83MW of solar in the third quarter, a 46% increase year-on-year, but down on Q2’s solar deployment figure of 85MW.