"There’s definitely a value to storing solar energy in batteries, and then discharging that energy to meet grid and customer needs. Measuring that value — and finding a way to share it between battery-equipped solar customers and their utilities — is a trickier matter.
Out in Sacramento, Calif., a long-running solar-storage pilot project has been testing out this interplay. The city’s utility, Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), has been working with startup Sunverge to align the operation of 34 battery-backed, PV-equipped homes with its needs to shave peak demand in late summer afternoons, when air-conditioning loads put stress on the grid.
SMUD is using critical peak pricing as its lever. Since 2012, the utility has been running an experiment with residential rate plans that charge extra-high prices during “critical peak period” days, in exchange for extra-low prices at other times. Some customers were offered the option of signing up for the plan — and others were automatically enrolled."
Read the full Greentech Media article here.