Vermont-based leading utility Green Mountain Power (GMP) filed a proposal with state officials to provide all customers with battery energy storage for emergency purposes, particularly during power outages.
“It is our responsibility to deliver a system that is always on for our customers. No matter where you live or who you are, by 2030 a power system that’s there for you whenever you need it.”
GMP CEO Mari McClure
GMP’s 2030 Zero Outages Initiative
Under the 2030 Zero Outages Initiative program, GMP seeks to deploy 270,000 battery storage units for all its customers by the end of this decade.
It aims to initially begin installing residential batteries in remote locations and gradually deploy energy storage to all customers by 2030.
In addition, it plans to strengthen power lines by burying them and replacing the current main feeder cables with three wires.
According to Electrek, GMP has already developed 50-mile underground lines in rural residential areas so far. Remarkably, those lines remained in good condition despite overcoming major storm surges. GMP’s spacer cable installation saw trees falling on lines outside the right-of-way but without causing outages.
IEEE reported that spacer cables for one utility lowered tree-induced customer interruptions by 90%.
Filing details
The project’s first phase seeks a total investment of $250 million. It will focus on strengthening and burying power lines to make them more resilient, particularly during storms.
It also calls for another $30 million in capital expenditure for customer and community storage programs in the next two years.
Meanwhile, the second phase awaits regulatory approval to expand the initial proposal beyond 2026.
All these are crucial for the company’s efforts to avoid power outages. For context, major storms have caused $45 million in damage throughout its service area in 2023 alone.
“We’ve had our worst storms in Vermont history in the last ten years. t doesn’t take very long in a climate-changed world to get to $80, $100 million a year.”
GMP CEO Mari McClure (via Utility Drive)
Potential benefits
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GMP already has a home battery program that allows customers to lease Tesla Powerwalls and non-Tesla products for $55/month. Such initiatives significantly aid the electrical grid as customers can access backup energy during emergencies and return the excess to the grid.
“Storage unlocks the power of renewable energy.
It’s important now, while those technologies are being developed and becoming cost-effective, that we set up our system to be ready for it.”
GMP CEO Mari McClure (via Utility Drive)
As for the recent filing, the Vermont Public Utility Commission is currently holding a public review to determine its feasibility. The first phase of the project may commence in the spring or summer of the following year if it successfully gains approval.
