California homeowners with batteries could soon get paid for sharing stored energy during peak demand, if a bill working its way through the state legislature becomes law.
Senate Bill 913, the "Clean Local Power Act," would require the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to create pathways for home batteries, electric vehicles, and smart thermostats to participate in the state's energy markets. The bill, authored by State Senator Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park), passed the Senate Energy Committee unanimously on April 7, 2026, and cleared the Appropriations Committee 5-0 on May 14, with a full Senate floor vote pending.
How the bill works
Under current rules, California's Resource Adequacy (RA) market, the system utilities use to prove they have enough electricity to meet peak demand, is largely limited to traditional power plants and large-scale battery installations. Home batteries, even in aggregate, cannot fully participate.
SB 913 would change that. The bill directs the CPUC to update RA rules by June 30, 2027, allowing energy aggregators to bundle thousands of residential batteries into "virtual power plants" (VPPs) and bid that combined capacity into the same markets where conventional generators compete.
Here's how it would work in practice: An aggregator signs up homeowners who have battery systems. When the grid needs extra power during a heat wave or peak evening demand, the aggregator dispatches stored energy from those batteries. Utilities contract with aggregators for this capacity, and a portion of those payments flows back to homeowners.
What California homeowners could earn
SB 913 doesn't set specific payment amounts; those would be determined through CPUC rulemaking and market dynamics. But existing VPP programs across the country offer a reference point for what homeowners might expect.
In California, Tesla Powerwall owners participating in the Demand Side Grid Support (DSGS) program earned up to $350 per battery per season in 2024. One San Jose homeowner reported earning $423 in a single summer across 12 VPP events. Another California homeowner with two Powerwalls earned $1,847 across 47 events during 2024.
Programs in other states offer different compensation structures. New England's ConnectedSolutions program pays $225–$400 per kilowatt of average summer performance, with typical annual earnings of $1,000–$3,000 for a two-battery setup. Portland General Electric in Oregon pays $1.70 per kilowatt-hour during peak events. Vermont's Green Mountain Power offers upfront incentives of $850–$950 per kilowatt of enrolled battery capacity.
A 2024 Brattle Group analysis commissioned by GridLab estimated that scaling California VPP capacity to 7.7 GW by 2035 could deliver $550 million annually in savings, with $500 million flowing to VPP participants.
Why this bill matters now
California is adding approximately 8,000 new home batteries per month, about 100 MW of new storage capacity, according to data from the CPUC cited by Senator Becker. The state's residential battery fleet has grown to roughly 300,000 units.
That capacity currently sits mostly idle during grid emergencies. A July 2025 DSGS test event demonstrated the potential: approximately 100,000 home batteries delivered 476 MW of grid support over two hours, enough to displace a mid-sized natural gas peaker plant.
"California has spent years incentivizing and encouraging consumers to invest in distributed energy resources such as EV chargers, smart thermostats, rooftop solar and batteries to reduce their energy demand across the state," says Brandon García, California director for Advanced Energy United. "But our policies still undervalue how these resources can be part of the solution to the energy affordability crisis."
SB 913 aims to close that gap by giving home batteries formal standing in the markets that determine how California meets peak demand.
What to consider before signing up
If SB 913 passes and programs launch, homeowners should weigh several factors.
Battery control. During VPP events, the aggregator dispatches your battery, potentially draining it during a heat wave or outage-prone period. Most programs set a minimum state-of-charge floor (typically 20%) to preserve some backup capacity, but the battery may not be fully charged when you need it most.
Battery wear. VPP dispatch typically adds fewer than 10 equivalent full cycles per year on top of the 250–365 cycles from normal daily use. The incremental wear is modest, but homeowners should check whether their battery warranty explicitly covers VPP participation. Most LFP batteries (used in current Tesla Powerwalls, Enphase, Franklin, and BYD systems) include this coverage.
Program stability. California's DSGS program lost funding after its successful 2025 summer season, leaving participants uncertain about future compensation. SB 913 would create a market-based pathway rather than a budget-dependent program, which could offer more stability; but the details depend on CPUC rulemaking.
Realistic earnings. Based on existing programs, most homeowners should expect $300–$1,500 per year per battery, depending on program structure, the number of events called, and how much capacity they share.
What happens next
SB 913 is on the Senate floor awaiting a third-reading vote. If it passes the full Senate, it moves to the Assembly. The bill has cleared every committee vote unanimously, with no registered opposition.
If enacted, the CPUC would have until June 30, 2027, to develop rules for aggregated distributed capacity in RA markets. Actual VPP programs under the new framework would follow after rulemaking concludes.
For homeowners with existing battery systems, or those considering one, SB 913 represents a potential new revenue stream that could help offset battery costs over time. It's not a guarantee of specific earnings, but it's a meaningful step toward giving home energy storage real value in California's grid markets.
