Good for your bill
Earn a straightforward credit for three winter months, for something your battery is capable of doing anyway. No new hardware to buy.
Good for the climate
Peaks in demand are often covered by less-clean, more expensive power sources. Your stored energy decreases our reliance on those resources.
Good for the co-op
You're a member-owner, not just a customer. Reducing how much power we have to buy during peak times helps keep wholesale power costs in check.
Here's how it works
A few times each month from December through February, LPEA will send a signal to your battery during a time frame when demand is at a peak. You're notified well in advance, and you always keep your reserve.
1. We give you a heads up: You get a text (or email) at least 6 hours before a peak event.
2. Your battery helps out: Your battery stays at 100% charge ahead of the expected peak event, then sends power to the grid during the predicted peak. You'll never drop below your 30% reserve, and you can opt in to have your battery recharge again afterwards.
3. You earn bill credit: A credit is applied to the following month's bill, whether or not we call a peak event.
| Earn up to | $20/kW in bill credits |
| Every | Jan · Feb · Dec |
| You Always Keep | 30% in reserve |
| Typical Powerwall 3 | about $189/year in bill credits |
Your battery is still yours
The most common question we hear is "what about my backup power?" Here's exactly how the program protects you.
- A guaranteed 30% reserve - We will never discharge your battery will never be below 30%.
- No events around outages - We'll never declare a peak event within 24 hours of any type of planned outage.
- Fair limits - There will be no more than 10 events a month and no more than 2 in a day. We'll never discharge your battery more than 3 hours at a time, and we'll never recharge your battery during your peak-rate hours.
- Untouched most of the year - This program is only active December - February. The rest of the year, your battery is all yours.
- Weather alerts come first - You'll never be penalized if your system has a weather-alert mode enabled, and an approaching storm automatically pauses your participation.
- You can opt out - You can skip any event you like and opt out of that month's credit.
- Cancel any time - You can leave the program whenever you want with written notice, and we'll unenroll your equipment within 3 business days.
You'll need an eligible battery system with permission to operate within LPEA's service territory, and a reliable internet connection to it.
| Minimum battery energy | 10 kWh |
| Minimum inverter capacity | >3 kW |
| Monthly connectivity needed | 90% |
| Commonly Supported platforms |
Tesla |
Eligibility is at LPEA's discretion.
We'll provide reporting so you can see exactly how your battery contributed and the impact you had during an event.
- A real-time view - Track your battery's participation and status through the program dashboard and see events as they happen.
- Your personal impact - Get simple summaries of the energy you contributed, the credits you earned, and what it meant for the grid.
- The collective result - See how the whole Community Power group performed together.
Find your system (or the closest match) below to see roughly what you'd earn.
| System (Battery + Inverter) | Battery (kWh) |
Inverter (kW) |
Contracted Power (kW) | Monthly Incentive |
Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla Powerwall 3 - 1 unit | 13.5 | 11.5 | 3.15 | $63 | $189 |
| Tesla Powerwall 3 + 1 expansion pack |
27 | 11* | 6.30 | $126 | $378 |
|
Tesla |
40.5 | 11* |
9.45 |
$189 | $567 |
| Enphase IQ Battery 5P - x2 (10 kWh) |
10 | 7.68 | 2.33 | $46.67 | $140 |
| Enphase IQ Battery 5P - x3 (15 kWh) | 15 |
11.52 |
3.50 | $70 | $210 |
| Enphase IQ Battery 5P - x4 (20 kWh) | 20 | 15.36 | 4.67 | $93.33 | $280 |
| Enphase IQ Battery 10C - x1 (10 kWh) | 10 | 7.08 | 2.33 | $46.67 | $140 |
| Enphase IQ Battery 10C - x2 (20 kWh) | 20 | 14.16 | 4.67 | $93.33 | $280 |
| FranklinWH aPower 2 - 1 unit | 15 | 10 | 3.50 | $70 | $210 |
| FranklinWH aPower 2 - 2 units | 30 | 20 | 7.00 | $140 | $420 |
| Sol-Ark 15K - 20 kWh bank | 20 | 15** | 4.67 | $93.33 | $280 |
| Sol-Ark 15K - 30 kWh bank | 30 | 15** | 7.00 | $140 | $420 |
Season = December + January + February (paid monthly)
How it's figured. Contracted Power = the lesser of (a) your battery energy × 70% ÷ 3 hours, or (b) your inverter's continuous output. Monthly incentive = $20 × Contracted Power, paid for each of the three program months (December, January, February) and credited on the following month's bill. Figures assume the program's 30% reserve.
Specs are nominal. Battery and inverter values are typical manufacturer ratings for these configurations; your actual numbers and eligibility (minimum 10 kWh battery, inverter over 3 kW, a supported manufacturer, and reliable connectivity) are confirmed by LPEA. Multi-battery inverter figures are the combined continuous output.
*Powerwall 3 expansion packs add battery capacity only and share the base unit's 11 kW inverter, so continuous output doesn't rise as packs are added. Here the incentive is set by battery energy anyway.
**Sol-Ark 15K is shown at its 15 kW nameplate (12 kW on battery alone). In both rows the Contracted Power is set by battery energy, not the inverter, so the incentive is the same either way.
Frequently Asked Questions
The program runs in the months of December, January, and February, when LPEA's peak load is highest. Outside those months, your battery stays enrolled, but LPEA would only ever signal it in a rare grid emergency.
- Your credit = your Contracted Power × $20/kW
- You're paid each of the three program months.
- Contracted Power is the lesser of
- (a) your usable battery energy (total energy minus the 30% reserve) divided by 3 hours, or
- (b) your inverter's continuous output.
A typical Tesla Powerwall 3 earns about $63/month, or roughly $189 across the winter.
LPEA will never discharge your battery below 30%.
If your system has a weather-alert mode enabled, approaching storms automatically pause your participation so you can maintain your battery reserves in case of an outage.
Furthermore, no peak events will ever be scheduled within 24 hours of any LPEA planned outage.
A peak event is a short window of time when LPEA adjusts your battery's settings to help provide power to the grid when our community is using the most power at once.
Events happen mostly from 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Your battery's discharge time will last no more than 3 hours, at most twice a day, and no more than 10 times a month. You're notified at least 6 hours ahead.
The peak event usually involves ensuring your battery charges to full and holds at 100%, then gradually discharges to the grid. There is also an optional recovery afterward.
You'll be notified via text or email. You pick your method when you enroll.
Yes. You can opt out of any peak event; doing so simply forfeits that month's credit. Automatic opt-outs, such as from an enabled weather alert or an LPEA-directed pause for a planned outage, never cause you to lose your credit.
It's possible. If your battery is held at full charge during a peak event, or was discharged toward the 30% reserve, you may draw more from the grid during peak hours than usual, which can affect peak demand or on-peak energy charges. For most members, the credit outweighs this, but we want you to know the trade-off up front.
Your credits are earned for the December, January, and February program months and appear on the following month's bill — so, roughly, your January, February, and March bills. If your account credit exceeds $500 on your April bill, you can request the balance as a check.
LPEA may charge your battery from the grid before an event. Grid-charging can interact with previously claimed Investment Tax Credit eligibility depending on when your system was installed. We're not able to give tax advice. Please check with a tax professional about your situation.
The initial term runs through November 30, 2029, then renews annually. You can cancel anytime with written notice, and we'll unenroll your equipment within 3 business days. Your equipment can't be enrolled in another battery aggregation or demand-response program at the same time.
This page is a plain-language summary. The full Terms & Conditions are the official rules and spell out eligibility, exactly how contracted power and credits are calculated, your reserve and protections, opt-outs, tax notes, and how to leave. If anything on this page and the Terms ever differ, the Terms take precedence. Please read the full Terms & Conditions before enrolling.
Ready to put your battery to work?
Join your neighbors in building a cleaner, more affordable grid! Enrollment takes just a few minutes.
Contact us at communitypower@lpea.coop or call 970-247-5786 today!
Before you enroll, we encourage you to read the full Terms & Conditions.