05 | 08 | 26
Jump to:
Most people think of home battery storage as a generator alternative – something you don’t really use unless there’s a storm or power outage. But now, thanks to a new Efficiency Maine pilot program, your battery can actually earn you money.
By occasionally allowing the grid to use your stored energy during “battery events,” you get paid, automatically, every year. Battery owners can earn up to $550–$600 per battery per year, paid by Efficiency Maine. With a 10-year program term, that results in about 25% off your first battery and 50% off additional batteries for your home.
Questions? Watch our Webinar Recording and send us an email: hello@revisionenergy.com
How It Works
During times of high electricity demand (typically weekday evenings, when people are home cooking and watching TV) Efficiency Maine can call a battery event. When that happens, enrolled home batteries briefly share stored energy with the grid, reducing strain and helping stabilize electricity supply for everyone.
It’s automatic; there’s nothing for you to do except maintain internet at your house so you battery stays connected. And you can always opt out – so if you’re throwing a party and want to store all your energy for your own use, you can opt out of the battery event.
Efficiency Maine pays program partners $200 per kW based on average power delivered across all event hours in the year. The aggregator (FranklinWH or Tesla) keeps 20% for administration, passing $160/kW to the homeowner. Earnings are paid out annually.
Why is this type of program important?
The electricity grid is changing fast, and the infrastructure supporting it is aging. As electricity demand grows from EVs, heat pumps, and other electrification, and as more renewable energy comes online, the grid must get smarter to shift demand from peak periods to off-peak times in order to lower costs for everyone.
Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) are networks of home batteries that can act like a single power plant when the grid needs support. Individually, one battery doesn’t move the needle that much, but when hundreds of batteries discharge small amounts of energy at the same time, the combined effect can be significant. It’s fast, automated (homeowners don’t have to do anything), and uses energy that’s already stored locally instead of firing up expensive, fossil‑fuel‑powered “peaker plants.” VPPs are critical to the grid of the future, providing flexibility while improving resilience.
Efficiency Maine Program Eligibility
- Must be a Maine utility customer (residential or small commercial)
- Battery must be from an approved manufacturer and interconnected per local utility guidelines
- Solar is welcome but not required
- Both new and existing systems are eligible
- Enrollment Enrollment is managed through each manufacturer’s app under the Virtual Power Plants section in Settings.
- Payments are issued by FranklinWH or Tesla after Efficiency Maine distributes performance payments following the event season.
Both FranklinWH and Tesla have weather-aware modes that protect backup reserves when severe weather is anticipated so your battery will not participate if an event is called. Efficiency Maine also says they won’t call events during potential severe weather.
The program term is 10 years for the state partnership, but homeowners can unenroll through their app at any time. Homeowners will be notified the day before each event in their app and can opt out of any event. Opting out of events simply reduces the average annual participation level of your battery which reduces your annual incentive
No — this runs April through March with at least two events every single month.
No — the program works with battery-only systems.
If you have solar, we don’t recommend it due to limited potential additional value and the possibility of reducing the total value of your battery. If you do not have solar then enrolling in TOU rates with a battery can add significant electric bill savings as long as you do not have dramatic evening load (like charging one or more EVs 5-9pm on weekdays). The TOU savings will be less than the Efficiency Maine Small Battery program savings.
