Ava Community Energy’s SmartHome Battery program is offering income-qualified North California residents up to $6,000 in up front incentive cash to install a FranklinWH smart battery and connect it to the utility’s virtual power plant (VPP).
For the uninitiated, a virtual power plant (VPP) enables utilities to tap into grid-connected batteries when electricity demand peaks, helping prevent outages and reduce strain on the grid without the need to build new, typically gas-fired “peaker” power plants. Homeowners benefit from backup power during outages, while utilities gain access to a more flexible, more affordable distributed energy resource, making home battery tech a rare win-win for consumers.
Now, income-qualified Ava Community customers enrolled in California’s California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) or Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) programs can get up to $6,000 in up front incentives when they enroll a FranklinWH energy storage system in the utility’s VPP program.
“SmartHome Battery was created to give residential customers more access to solar and battery storage while supporting grid reliability,” explains Howard Chang, CEO of Ava Community Energy. “Adding FranklinWH Systems as an approved provider advances our goals of expanding access, delivering reliable backup power, and creating a simple homeowner experience.”
