Base Power raises another $1B to save the grid using backyard batteries

Rather than charge thousands of dollars up front, as most home battery installers do, Base Power offers its batteries the device on a subscription basis. In the Houston area, for example, Base Power charges customers $695 to install a single battery, $19 per month, and 13.1 cents per kilowatt-hour for electricity, which is about the going rate in the region. Base Power, which owns the battery, sells stored electricity back to the grid during periods of high demand. Such services can pay handsomely. 

In regulated markets, Base Power works with utilities to place batteries in customers’ homes to alleviate strain on the local grid. In both regulated and deregulated markets, homeowners can use the batteries to power their homes in case of blackouts. At nearly 40 kilowatt-hours, the batteries can provide backup power for a day or more.

The new round was led by Ribbit, Addition, Valor Equity Partners, and JPMorganChase’s Strategic Investment Group with participation from Altimeter, D1 Capital Partners, Sands Capital, Coatue, Layer Global, and Energy Impact Partners, Thrive Capital, a16z, Lightspeed, Trust Ventures, CapitalG, and others. Base Power was co-founded by Zach Dell, who serves as CEO. His father, Dell CEO Michael Dell, did not participate in the round.