Battery Backup: Austin’s Base Power Expands to Dallas

Aiming to serve as a "virtual power plant" to bolster the Texas grid, Base—co-founded by CEO Zach Dell, son of billionaire Dell founder Michael Dell—offers residential customers an all-in-one energy plan including a whole-home backup battery that can power homes during a blackout.

Base Power—a company that offers a “simple, all-in-one energy plan” including a whole-home backup battery—has expanded to Dallas a year after launching in the Austin area. 

Co-founded in 2023 by CEO Zach Dell—son of billionaire Dell founder Michael Dell—and COO Justin Lopas, Base Power says its service can be deployed to homes without solar power, while being compatible for homes that have it.

When the grid goes down, the company says, its batteries automatically power customers’ homes. And unlike traditional backup systems which have steep upfront costs, Base says it earns revenue by providing services to the grid—”enabling Texans to get reliable backup and real savings, starting at just $695 for installation and $19 a month.”

Base Power CEO Zach Dell [Photo: Base]

“Expanding into Dallas is a major milestone for Base—one we’ve been building towards since day one,” Zach Dell said in a statement. “This city reflects the scale and ambition behind our mission, and we couldn’t be more excited to finally serve the thousands of households that have been waiting for a better energy solution.”

North Texas expansion announced last year

In August 2024, Dallas Innovates first wrote about Base Power’s expansion to North Texas. The company says it’s now serving homeowners across Dallas–Fort Worth, including in Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, and Plano.

With this week’s announced expansion, Base says its service is now available “throughout the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex,” including in Dallas, Irving, North Richland Hills, Coppell, “and beyond.” 

The company said it’s also serving customers in key parts of Houston like Harris County, Katy, Sugar Land, and Magnolia; as well as cities around Austin like Round Rock, Pflugerville, Temple, and Killeen. Statewide, its battery-powered home energy model now has a potential reach of seven million Texans, the company added.

Over $270M raised to date

Base said it has raised over $270 million to drive its expansion, building on partnerships with leading homebuilders like Lennar and “forward-thinking utilities” including GVEC and Bandera Electric Cooperative.

To support its expansion across Dallas-Fort Worth, Base has opened an office and warehouse in Grapevine and hired “over 10” full-time local employees. The company reports having over 200 team members across its Austin headquarters, Bay Area engineering hub, and statewide field operations.

More on the Base Power plan

COO Justin Lopas

According to its website, Base’s energy plan costs $695 for the installation of a one-battery system, plus a $19-a-month membership fee. (For two batteries, those numbers are $995 and $29 a month.) Billing is listed at 8.5 cents per kilowatt hour plus your utility’s transmission and delivery fees, fixed, for 36 months. “All in” with utility fees, Base has said customers will pay around around 13.5 cents per kilowatt hour. The plan covers $250 in cancellation fees from the customer’s current provider. 

One Base Power battery provides 25 kWh of backup during blackouts (up to 24 hours of outage protection), the company says.

“The pain every Texan feels in the summer and the winter is a preview of what may come nationwide,” Dell said in a statement last year. “Our aging energy systems are not fit to harness our increasingly renewable and intermittent power supply, and we are unprepared for growing demand from Texas’s growth and the electrification of our economy. Base Power is the key to unlocking an energy abundant future through dispatchable, distributed battery storage.”

For solar-powered households, Base says customers will get credit for their solar overproduction at a rate of “real-time wholesale plus 3¢/kWh.”

Aiming to serve as a ‘virtual power plant’

Besides its impact on individual households, Base says it aims to bolster the Texas grid by operating as a “virtual power plant.” 

“When the grid is up and running, the Base battery will improve grid stability, and, when the grid goes down, Base will protect customers’ homes from power outages,” the company said. “By switching to Base and installing a Base battery, customers will gain access to reliable backup and competitive energy rates, without the high upfront costs of traditional home batteries or generators.”


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