Base Power

Base Power is an Austin, TX-based energy company that combines residential battery storage with retail electricity service into a single, vertically integrated offering. The company installs large Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) home batteries — ranging from 25 to 50 kWh — at customer homes for a low upfront installation fee, then provides electricity at fixed, below-market rates (starting at ~8¢/kWh). Unlike traditional home battery companies that require solar pairing, Base offers battery-backed electricity plans with no solar requirement, serving customers in Texas (as a licensed Retail Electric Provider) and Illinois. The system automatically provides whole-home backup power during outages, protecting against an estimated 97% of outage events.

Base's core innovation is its grid-balancing business model: rather than profiting solely from customer electricity bills, the company earns revenue by using proprietary software to orchestrate its growing distributed battery fleet as a virtual power plant. Batteries charge during periods of low grid demand and discharge during peak demand events, generating grid-services revenue that is passed back to customers in the form of lower rates. This "earn from the grid, not you" model aligns Base's financial incentives with customer and grid interests alike. The company's technology stack includes outage prediction algorithms, fleet dispatch software, and hardware certified under UL 1973, UL 1741, UL 9540, and UL 9540A standards.

Base Power is strategically important to the US energy supply chain because it addresses two compounding crises simultaneously: grid reliability and energy affordability. Founded in the wake of Winter Storm Uri's devastation of the Texas grid, Base is building a rapidly scalable distributed energy storage layer that can be deployed 10x faster than centralized grid-scale batteries, without requiring new transmission infrastructure. With over 20,000 homes powered, partnerships with utilities like El Paso Electric and a South Texas co-op, and plans to expand into PJM territory, Base represents a novel model of consumer-financed, distributed grid infrastructure. Its recognition on Time's 100 Most Influential Companies list reflects how its approach is reshaping assumptions about who builds — and who benefits from — the energy grid.