El Paso Electric and Base Power Launch Residential Distributed Energy Storage Program to Strengthen Grid Reliability

EL PASO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--El Paso Electric Company (EPE) and Base Power today announced a new pilot program that will use home battery systems to help reduce strain and strengthen the electric grid during times of high electricity demand. The program represents a scalable model for utilities seeking to add flexible, customer-sited capacity to the grid on significantly shorter timelines than traditional generation or transmission buildout.

Through the program, Base Power will deploy a fleet of networked residential battery systems in EPE’s Texas service region, providing EPE with dispatchable capacity to support the grid during periods of high electricity demand and strengthen the grid infrastructure. The batteries will be installed at qualifying residential customer homes and integrated into EPE’s system to deliver reliable grid services during periods of high demand, while preserving backup power for customers during outages.

The partnership was selected through EPE’s Residential Distributed Energy Storage Pilot Program (DESPP), which seeks to bring up to 10 MW of residential energy storage online ahead of the 2026 summer peak to address localized capacity constraints and improve system resiliency.

“Distributed energy storage is becoming an increasingly important tool for utilities navigating load growth, extreme weather, and infrastructure constraints,” said Kelly Tomblin, CEO of El Paso Electric. “This partnership with Base Power allows us to add flexible, cost-effective capacity where it’s needed most, while maintaining operational control and delivering tangible reliability benefits for our customers.”

Under the program, EPE will manage the battery fleet, including dispatch, scheduling, and performance monitoring. Base Power is responsible for system installation and ongoing maintenance, enabling EPE to deploy capacity efficiently without adding operational complexity. The battery systems are designed to operate independently of any existing solar systems at participating homes.

“We’re excited for the opportunity to support EPE in adding flexible, reliable capacity to its system,” said Zach Dell, CEO of Base Power. “By aggregating residential batteries into a utility-controlled resource, EPE can strengthen reliability, manage peak demand, and defer costly infrastructure investments - all while providing customers with meaningful outage protection.”

The partnership is structured to support future expansion and serves as a replicable model for investor-owned utilities seeking customer-sited storage solutions that align operational control, regulatory requirements, and customer value.

Homeowners can see if they qualify at www.basepowercompany.com/EPElectric.

For more information on Base Power’s utility partnerships, visit www.basepowercompany.com/utilities

About Base Power

Founded in 2023 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Base Power is an energy company building a more resilient electric grid through distributed battery systems. Base partners with utilities to deploy utility-controlled, customer-sited energy storage that delivers cost-effective dispatchable capacity, improves reliability, and provides households with backup power during outages. Learn more at www.basepowercompany.com/utilities.

About El Paso Electric

El Paso Electric is an energy provider that is engaged in generation, transmission and distribution service to power approximately 465,000 customers in a 10,000 square mile area from Hatch, New Mexico to Van Horn, Texas. Major cities in the service region include El Paso, Texas and Las Cruces, New Mexico.