Sunrun Stands Ready for New Emergency Demand Response Program in Puerto Rico as Energy Instability Continues to Plague Local Residents
Distributed power plant aims to keep communities powered with energy from thousands of residential solar-plus-storage systems when unreliable, polluting oil- and gas-plants go down
SAN FRANCISCO, July 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sunrun (Nasdaq: RUN), the nation’s leading home solar, battery storage, and solar energy-as-a-service provider, today announced its fleet is ready for participation in the Battery Emergency Demand Response program in Puerto Rico. This is the first distributed power plant program in the nation that specifically focuses on rapid emergency response from thousands of residential solar and storage systems when the island's aging oil- and gas-fired power plants fail or when electricity generation issues arise that could lead to rolling blackouts.
Puerto Rico leads the U.S. in total hours of electricity outages. Millions of residents collectively experienced more than 300 million hours of power disruptions in 2022, according to PowerOutage.us. In June, tens of thousands were without electricity as the island reached a record-breaking heat index of 125 degrees, knocking one oil-fired power plant out of service.
This innovative distributed power plant program was formed in response to the island’s outages that regularly occur multiple times a week. The program gives the utility provider on the island access to flexible and cost-effective power from residential energy resources in order to alleviate pressure on the power grid during periods of peak demand, combat climate change, and improve the dependability of the island’s overall energy system.
“We are thrilled to be joining this groundbreaking reliability program in Puerto Rico and showcasing how our growing fleet of personal storage in homes can keep the lights on for everyone when other generation sources fail,” said Sunrun CEO Mary Powell. “It's exciting to see the progress being made on the island with officials and grid operators embracing home solar and storage as playing a key role in making sure Puerto Ricans have access to clean, affordable and resilient energy, especially as we enter hurricane season.”
“During Hurricane Fiona, the power went out in our neighborhood for four days,” said Solange Ramos, a Sunrun customer in Puerto Rico. “Thanks to our solar and battery system, we had power at all times without having to resort to generators. We were able to go to bed peacefully, knowing that we wouldn’t be in need during extreme weather.”
Sunrun is ready to enroll its solar-plus-storage customers into the program and expects thousands of opt-ins as it prepares to respond to requests for emergency power. The program anticipates 75 to 125 dispatch events in the first year with an average duration of two hours.
Customers participating in the program will receive a pay-for-performance payment from Sunrun estimated at hundreds of dollars per battery, which can reduce costs and help stabilize the grid simultaneously. In the event of a local power outage, batteries enrolled in the program will retain enough backup energy to meet personal, essential needs.
The Battery Emergency Demand Response program is separate from the 17-megawatt distributed power plant project Sunrun announced in Puerto Rico last year. The company will begin enrolling 7,000 customers this year and will provide solar power to the grid every day at scheduled times beginning in 2024.
Sunrun customers interested in participating in the Battery Emergency Demand Response program can learn more and enroll by visiting sunrun.com/poweron-puerto-rico.
About Sunrun
Sunrun Inc. (Nasdaq: RUN) is the nation’s leading home solar, battery storage, and energy services company. Founded in 2007, Sunrun pioneered home solar service plans to make local clean energy more accessible to everyone for little to no upfront cost. Sunrun’s innovative home battery solutions bring families affordable, resilient, and reliable energy. The company can also manage and share stored solar energy from the batteries to provide benefits to households, utilities, and the electric grid while reducing our reliance on polluting energy sources. For more information, please visit www.sunrun.com.
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Released July 27, 2023