Tesla’s Virtual Power Plant program got its first workout this week in California. During a widespread strain on the power grid, Tesla reached out to the pilot program’s participants to ask that they share some of the power stored in their Powerwall units — and more than 2,000 owners agreed to do so.
During the power event (Tesla’s Powerwall app labeled it simply “Grid Load Reduction”) those who had opted into the Virtual Power Plant pilot program were prompted to add their extra charge to the system load. Opting in would start charging a user’s Powerwall at 5:00 a.m. on August 17 and begin discharging at 6:00 p.m. the same day.
