Tesla’s Texas electricity retail operations to lean on battery storage experience

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email
Tesla Powerwall residential battery systems used in a grid-balancing pilot project by Vermont utility Green Mountain Power. Image: Green Mountain Power.

Tesla’s planned launch of a retail electricity offering to existing customers within the ERCOT service area in Texas will lean heavily on battery storage as well as solar for its expertise, assets and routes to market. 

Newly-created subsidiary Tesla Energy Ventures filed an application in mid-August with the Texas Public Utilities Commission (PUC), for certification as a Retail Electric Provider (REP) within the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) jurisdiction. ERCOT serves more than 80% of Texas’ electric load and has become a leading market for wind, solar and latterly battery storage in the US. 

Tesla Energy Ventures hopes to be registered and ready for testing for its ability to meet ERCOT requirements in October. The subsidiary’s leadership team is headed up by four Tesla team members, who have a combined 15+ years of experience in the competitive electric industry, as required. Its president, Ana Stewart has been Tesla director of regulatory credit trading since 2017 and was at SolarCity prior to its Tesla acquisition. 

In the filing with the regulatory PUC two affiliates to Tesla Energy Ventures are listed as certified to provide electric service in Texas: Gambit Energy Storage, LLC, — the 100MW+ battery storage system project Tesla is reportedly developing in the state — and Giga Texas Energy, LLC, which is thought to relate to renewable energy and battery facilities for the company’s Texas factory which is under construction.    

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

Not ready to commit yet?
  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Scheduling of the retail electricity offering will be managed by ENGIE Energy Marketing North America, an arm of European multinational energy company ENGIE. Tesla Energy Ventures will manage forecasting. According to the filing, Tesla Energy Ventures “will leverage forecasting tools, capability and knowledge already in place to support its utility-scale battery storage system in ERCOT as well as its retail offerings and virtual power plant (VPP) programmes operating today in places ranging from Australia, California, Vermont, Germany and the United Kingdom (UK).”

Tesla intends to market the retail offering to existing customers via its website and apps.

Read Next

September 1, 2025
Hithium has shipped the first battery energy storage systems (BESS) manufactured at its new plant in Texas, US.
August 28, 2025
California utility Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) has pushed back recommissioning of the Elkhorn battery energy storage system (BESS) by approximately one year, to 30 June 2026.
Premium
August 27, 2025
We catch up with the CEO of BESS developer Harmony Energy about its strategy and plans going forward, following the sale of its affiliated Harmony Energy Income Trust (HEIT).
August 27, 2025
Three companies, Pacifico Energy, Zenith Volts, and Fermi America have begun expanding power generation and energy storage capabilities for US data centre development.
August 26, 2025
After an initial rush to deploy that gave CAISO and ERCOT the lead in US BESS adoption, both markets are focused on capacity and availability, writes Amit Mathrani of Rabobank Americas.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter