Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and Tesla have announced that the Tesla Cybertruck, Tesla Powershare Gateway and Tesla Universal Wall Connector have been approved for participation in PG&E’s residential ‘Vehicle‑to‑Everything’ (V2X) programme, marking a significant milestone for bidirectional electric vehicle integration in California.
PG&E customers who own a Cybertruck can utilise PG&E’s V2X programme to install Powershare Home Backup and activate Powershare Grid Support. With these, customers can use their vehicle to power their home in an outage and earn money by selling power back to the electric grid during grid events.
This marks the first AC vehicle-to-grid application approved for customers in California, enabling vehicles to connect using much simpler equipment instead of a specialised DC infrastructure.
Colby Hastings, senior director of Tesla’s Residential Energy business. “Our unique integrated architecture makes vehicle-to-grid dramatically cheaper than alternatives, and PG&E’s V2X programme will accelerate customer adoption.”
Customers enrolled in PG&E’s residential V2X pilot may be eligible for:
Up to $4500 in incentives applied toward bidirectional‑enabled equipment such as the Tesla Universal Wall Connector and Powershare Gateway, Utility interconnection costs and additional incentives for participation in planned grid or backup power events, and others deriving from staying enrolled through to the end of the pilot programme. During periods of high electricity demand, enrolled vehicles may export power in response to grid signals, helping balance supply and demand while providing customer compensation. Tesla’s Grid Support functionality and its Powershare platform co-ordinate energy export through software enabled grid programmes, including PG&E’s Emergency Load Reduction Programme (ELRP).
Participation is opt-in, event-based, and designed to work around customers’ daily routine, so users can maintain full control over driving needs and backup preferences.
