Base Power Brings 50-MW Residential Battery Program to Georgia via Electric Co-Op Partnership
Distributed energy developer Base Power is teaming up with the Central Georgia Electric Membership Corp. (Central Georgia EMC) to deploy 50 MW of whole-home backup battery storage across the cooperative’s service territory.
The partnership marks Base Power’s first utility agreement outside Texas, its original launch market. Central Georgia EMC members can secure automatic, whole-home backup that powers an entire house for a one-time $95 fee with no monthly charges. By signing up, members join a networked fleet of dispatchable power.
Central Georgia EMC is a member-owned cooperative serving over 69,000 billed accounts in 16 Georgia counties.
"We're excited to partner with Central Georgia EMC to bring our innovative solution to Georgia," said Zach Dell, co-founder and CEO of Base Power, in a statement. "Central Georgia EMC has spent decades looking out for its members, and this program builds on that work.”
According to a company release, the batteries will form a networked fleet that Central Georgia EMC can dispatch 24/7, adding local capacity to support the grid and the community. This partnership will allow Base Power to provide the co-op members with a fast, low-cost solution to add capacity more efficiently, eliminating the traditional costs associated with standard virtual power plant (VPP) models.
In traditional VPP models, expensive hardware needs to be sold to consumers, whereas Base Power retains ownership of the battery fleet.
Base Power noted that they will begin installing these batteries in 2027 outside co-op members' homes, handling all service and maintenance for their operating lifespan.
By installing batteries directly at residential homes, Base Power can bypass the massive capital expenditures, land acquisition, costly permitting and years-long utility interconnection queues. This strategy allows for the batteries to charge from the grid overnight when electricity demand and costs are low.
Base Power states that a single one of its batteries can back up a residential home for up to 36 hours. That power is then discharged back into the system during peak demand hours when prices skyrocket.
Members are reportedly billed only for the actual energy their home uses, at their normal Central Georgia EMC rates.
“As the energy industry continues to evolve, Central Georgia EMC is committed to pursuing innovative solutions that provide value to our members," said George L. Weaver, president and CEO of Central Georgia EMC. "By partnering with Base Power, we can add flexible local capacity to support our electric system while giving participating members greater peace of mind through dependable backup battery power.”
This agreement with Central Georgia EMC expands Base Power's utility network to over 750 MWh across 30,000 homes in the U.S., joining partners such as Austin Energy, El Paso Electric, CoServ, Farmers Electric Cooperative and Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative.
In August, the 2023-founded startup closed a $1 billion Series D round, bringing its valuation to $13 billion while scaling production of its “Base Core” batteries at its Base Factory 1 in Austin, Texas. The battery technology, which uses lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO₄) in its cell chemistry, works alongside the grid to reinforce critical localized capacity.
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Eric Moody