Battery & virtual power plant plans
Base Power vs. Octopus Energy vs. Energywell: Texas Home Battery Plans Compared
Three companies will now put a battery on the side of your Texas house for little or nothing up front — in exchange for control of that battery and a long-term relationship. Here is what each one actually costs, and what you give up.
Last reviewed · Texas Electricity Ratings
Key takeaways
- Base Power scores highest at 74/100 — biggest battery, widest availability, but a real install fee and the highest all-in rate.
- Octopus Energy PowerStore and Energywell tie at 66/100 for very different reasons: Octopus is the only one with a path to owning the hardware; Energywell has the lowest rate and best-documented battery.
- The advertised rates are not comparable. Base quotes an all-in price; the other two quote energy only and leave out 5–6¢/kWh of delivery charges.
- On total cost, Energywell is cheapest — about $5,760 over three years at 1,000 kWh/month, versus $6,527 for Base Power and $6,768 for Octopus. Over five years the gap widens to roughly $815 and $1,680.
- Against a plain no-battery fixed-rate plan, the battery costs you $11 to $43 a month depending on provider and usage — against $13,000 or more for a whole-home generator.
- All three make their money dispatching your battery into ERCOT. That is the business model, not a footnote.
- Every system is sized for hours of backup, not days.
The short version
Base Power
REP + battery · PUCT #10338
74/100
Why it rates: the largest battery, the widest availability, and published Electricity Facts Labels. You pay for that with a real upfront fee and the highest all-in energy rate of the three.
Best for: homeowners who want maximum backup hours now and can absorb the install cost.
Octopus Energy — PowerStore
REP + Lunar Energy battery
66/100
Why it rates: the only one of the three that spells out how you end up owning the hardware. The $45 monthly battery subscription is more than double the other two.
Best for: people who want zero down and an eventual off-ramp to ownership.
Energywell
Elevate Energy, LLC · PUCT #10353
66/100
Why it rates: cheapest rate, nothing up front but a refundable deposit, best-documented hardware. The catch is a 15-year battery agreement and invitation-only enrollment.
Best for: homeowners not planning to move who care most about the monthly bill.
Full ratings matrix
| Base PowerBattery + electricity plan | Octopus EnergyPowerStore, w/ Lunar Energy | EnergywellBattery + electricity plan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 74 | 66 | 66 |
| Cost | |||
| Cost to get started | $695 installation (Oncor); varies by ZIP. Refundable deposit credited toward it. | $0 down. | $0 equipment or install. $99 deposit, refunded after first bill. |
| Monthly fee | $19/mo membership. Waived in some utility partnerships. | $45/mo battery subscription. | $19/mo base charge. |
| Energy rate | 14.3¢/kWh all-in in Oncor — 8¢ energy plus delivery. | 8¢/kWh energy only, before delivery of roughly 5–6¢. | 7.8¢/kWh energy only, before delivery. |
| Rate protection | Contract commits to staying below market average, at signup and renewal. | Fixed for the 36-month term. No stated renewal protection. | Lowest Rate Guarantee: if they can't match a comparable Power to Choose offer at renewal, you leave penalty-free and they remove the battery. |
| Hardware | |||
| Battery & capacity | Base battery, 40 kWh standard; configurations to 80 kWh. | Lunar Energy battery, 30 kWh. | EcoFlow OCEAN Pro, 10 kWh modules to 40 kWh total. |
| Backup runtime | Up to 25–36 hours with reduced consumption. Company cites protection against 97% of outages. | About a day for critical loads. | Not published as an hour figure; depends on state of charge and load. |
| Published specs & certs | UL 1973, 1741, 9540, 9540A. | Little hardware detail on the consumer page. | UL 9540B, IP67, −22°F to 140°F, flood resistant to 3.3 ft, built-in fire suppression, 24 kW hybrid inverter, 8-circuit smart panel, sub-10 ms switchover, 15-year equipment warranty. |
| Works with your solar | YesNo extra hardware; excess energy bought back. | Not specified | Not specified |
| Generator port | Yes240V portable generator can recharge the battery mid-outage. | Not specified | YesIncluded at no cost. |
| Commitment | |||
| Contract length | Term not published on the consumer site; check the EFL for your address. | 36-month electricity term sitting inside a 10-year battery lease. | Two contracts: 5-year electricity term that renews, and a 15-year battery agreement. |
| Path to owning the battery | None offered. Base retains the asset and covers maintenance for life. | Option to buy the system at the end of the battery lease. | None offered. Energywell owns and maintains the system. |
| If you move | De-installation terms published separately | Not specified | TransferableContract moves to a new qualified buyer, no fee or penalty. |
| Who controls the battery | ProviderCharges and discharges for grid balancing; that revenue is what subsidizes your rate. | ProviderLunar schedules charge and discharge; tops up ahead of forecast storms. | ProviderDispatched across the connected community during price spikes and grid stress. |
| Access & track record | |||
| Availability | Broadly available across Texas retail-choice areas, plus co-op and utility partnerships. | Limited initial rollout in deregulated Texas. | Invitation only or through partner channels. Homeowners only. |
| Track record | 20,000+ homes in Texas and Illinois. BBB accredited, 4.8-star average. | Large international retailer; this Texas battery product launched April 2026. | New brand. Licensed REP behind it, but little independent review history yet. |
| Pricing transparency | EFLs and a bill comparison tool published. | Headline numbers public; delivery charges quoted as a range. | Rate, fee, deposit and both contract terms stated plainly. |
| Learn more | Base Power | Octopus Energy | Energywell |
Total cost over 3 and 5 years
Advertised rates hide the differences. Base Power quotes an all-in price, the other two quote energy only, and the monthly fees range from $19 to $45. The only fair way to compare is to add everything up over the life of the contract.
- Delivery (TDU) charge: 6.3¢/kWh. Derived from Base Power's own disclosure — its 14.3¢ all-in rate minus its 8¢ energy charge. Applied identically to all three plans.
- No-battery benchmark: 14.5¢/kWh all-in for a comparable Texas fixed-rate plan with no battery.
- Oncor territory. Excludes sales tax and any future TDU pass-through adjustments.
Why the delivery assumption doesn't change the answer: every plan here uses the same utility wires at the same usage, so delivery is an identical dollar amount in all three columns. Change it and every total moves together — the gaps between providers stay exactly the same.
Typical home — 1,000 kWh per month
| Plan | Up front | Per month | 3-year total | 5-year total | Effective all-in rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energywell | $0$99 deposit, refunded | $160 | $5,760 | $9,600 | 16.0¢/kWh |
| Base Power | $695 | $162 | $6,527 | $10,415 | 18.1¢ / 17.4¢3-yr / 5-yr |
| Octopus PowerStore | $0 | $188 | $6,768 | $11,280 | 18.8¢/kWh |
| No battery, plain fixed rate | $0 | $145 | $5,220 | $8,700 | 14.5¢/kWh |
Large or all-electric home — 2,000 kWh per month
| Plan | Up front | Per month | 3-year total | 5-year total | Effective all-in rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energywell | $0 | $301 | $10,836 | $18,060 | 15.0¢/kWh |
| Base Power | $695 | $305 | $11,675 | $18,995 | 16.2¢ / 15.8¢3-yr / 5-yr |
| Octopus PowerStore | $0 | $331 | $11,916 | $19,860 | 16.6¢/kWh |
| No battery, plain fixed rate | $0 | $290 | $10,440 | $17,400 | 14.5¢/kWh |
What the battery actually costs you
Subtract the no-battery benchmark from each total and you get the real price of the backup power — the premium you pay above a normal electricity plan for having a battery on the side of your house.
Energywell
$15/mo
$540 over three years at 1,000 kWh. Falls to about $11/month at 2,000 kWh, where the low rate does more work.
Base Power
$36/mo
$1,307 over three years, including the $695 install. You get 40 kWh of storage for it — a third more than Octopus.
Octopus PowerStore
$43/mo
$1,548 over three years. The most expensive path, but the only one that ends with you owning the hardware.
For context, a professionally installed whole-home standby generator runs roughly $13,000 to $18,000 before fuel and annual servicing. On that basis every one of these plans is inexpensive resilience — the argument between them is about terms, not price.
Read the five-year column carefully
- Only Energywell's rate is actually fixed for five years. Its electricity agreement runs a 5-year term, so that column is contracted.
- Octopus is fixed for 36 months only. The five-year total assumes the 8¢ rate carries into years four and five. It might not — there is no published renewal protection.
- Base Power does not publish a term on its consumer site, so both columns assume the rate holds. Its contract does commit to staying below market average at renewal, which limits the downside.
- The battery obligations outlast these windows. Energywell's battery agreement runs 15 years and Octopus's lease runs 10. A five-year total does not represent the length of what you are signing.
Base Power in detail
Base Power is a licensed Texas retail electricity provider (PUCT #10338) that installs its own 40 kWh battery and sells you electricity at the same time. In Oncor territory the plan runs 14.3¢/kWh all-in — an 8¢ energy charge plus delivery — on top of a $695 installation fee and $19 a month. Larger homes can be configured up to 80 kWh.
It is the most mature of the three, with more than 20,000 homes across Texas and Illinois and a BBB accreditation. It is also the only one that publishes Electricity Facts Labels and a bill comparison tool, which is why it takes the transparency rating despite not disclosing a headline contract term.
The trade-off: there is no path to owning the hardware. Base keeps the asset, covers maintenance for the life of the agreement, and earns its return by dispatching your battery into ERCOT.
Octopus Energy PowerStore in detail
PowerStore launched in April 2026 as a partnership between Octopus Energy and battery manufacturer Lunar Energy. You get a 30 kWh Lunar battery installed with nothing down, a 36-month fixed electricity term at 8¢/kWh before delivery, and a $45 monthly battery subscription.
Lunar orchestrates when the battery charges and discharges, buying when ERCOT prices are low and selling into peaks — and topping the battery to full when a storm is forecast. Octopus says the arbitrage is what funds the fixed rate.
The differentiator: at the end of the battery lease you have the option to buy the system outright. Neither competitor offers that. The cost: $45 a month is more than double what Base and Energywell charge, and the rollout is limited to a small number of Texas homes to start.
Energywell in detail
Energywell operates in Texas through Elevate Energy, LLC (PUCT #10353). The offer is 7.8¢/kWh before delivery, $19 a month, and no equipment or installation cost beyond a $99 deposit that is refunded after your first bill.
The hardware is the best documented of the three: an EcoFlow OCEAN Pro system in 10 kWh modules up to 40 kWh, with a 24 kW hybrid inverter, an 8-circuit smart panel, sub-10-millisecond switchover, IP67 sealing, flood resistance to 3.3 feet, built-in fire suppression and a 15-year equipment warranty. Energywell says it is the first residential system certified to UL 9540B.
Its Lowest Rate Guarantee is also the strongest renewal protection in the group: if Energywell cannot match a comparable fixed-rate offer listed on Power to Choose when your term renews, you can leave penalty-free and they remove the battery at no cost.
The trade-off: two contracts, and the battery one runs 15 years. Enrollment is currently invitation-only or through partner channels, and you must own your home. The contract does transfer to a qualified buyer at no fee if you sell.
Three things the matrix can't score
The rate comparison is not apples to apples
Base quotes an all-in 14.3¢/kWh that already includes Oncor delivery. Octopus and Energywell quote the energy charge only. Add roughly 5–6¢/kWh of TDU delivery to their numbers before you compare, and the three land far closer together than the headline figures suggest.
You are trading control for the discount
All three earn their money by dispatching your battery into the ERCOT market. Your battery may sit at partial charge on an ordinary day because the provider is arbitraging price, not because anything is wrong.
Long outages are still a problem
Every one of these systems is sized for hours, not days. Past the point where the battery empties, you need the grid back or a generator to recharge it. Base and Energywell both support a generator input; confirm it in writing before signing.
Frequently asked questions
A virtual power plant (VPP) plan bundles a home battery with an electricity plan. The provider installs and owns the battery, then charges and discharges it across thousands of homes to support the ERCOT grid. The revenue from that grid participation is what lets them give you the hardware for little or nothing up front and hold your energy rate below market.
For all three of these plans, yes — the battery comes bundled with retail electricity service, so the provider becomes your REP. Base Power is the exception in some markets: where it works through a utility or co-op partnership, you keep your existing provider and only get the battery program.
Octopus Energy PowerStore is $0 down. Energywell requires a $99 deposit that is refunded after your first bill, so it is effectively free to start. Base Power charges a $695 installation fee in Oncor territory, though the amount varies by ZIP code and is discounted or waived in some utility partnerships.
On paper Energywell at 7.8¢/kWh, then Octopus at 8¢/kWh. But both of those are energy-only charges that exclude your utility's delivery fees of roughly 5 to 6¢/kWh. Base Power's 14.3¢/kWh already includes delivery. Once you add delivery to all three, the real difference is small — single-digit percentage points, not double.
Base Power cites up to 25 to 36 hours on a 40 kWh system with reduced consumption. Octopus's 30 kWh Lunar battery is described as running critical loads for about a day. Energywell does not publish an hour figure. In every case the real answer depends on the battery's state of charge when the outage starts and what you run during it — air conditioning, dryers and electric heat drain a battery in hours, while lights, Wi-Fi and the refrigerator barely register.
The provider does. All three companies decide when your battery charges and when it sends power back to the grid. You get an app showing status and usage, but you are not scheduling dispatch. During an outage the system switches to backing up your home automatically. Providers also pre-charge batteries to full when severe weather is forecast.
Only with Octopus Energy PowerStore, which gives you the option to purchase the Lunar system at the end of the battery lease. Base Power and Energywell both retain ownership of the hardware and handle maintenance themselves for the life of the agreement.
Octopus pairs a 36-month electricity term with a 10-year battery lease. Energywell is the longest commitment: a 5-year electricity agreement that renews, inside a 15-year battery services agreement. Base Power does not publish a headline term on its consumer site — request the Electricity Facts Label for your address before enrolling.
Energywell transfers the contract to a qualified buyer with no fee or penalty. Base Power publishes separate de-installation terms. Octopus has not published a policy for the Texas program. Given that these agreements run 10 to 15 years, get the transfer and early-termination terms in writing before you sign — this is the single most commonly overlooked clause.
Solar is not required by any of the three. Base Power works with existing solar arrays with no extra hardware and buys back excess generation; Octopus and Energywell do not specify solar integration on their consumer pages. Home ownership is required — Energywell states this explicitly, and installation on all three involves permitting and panel work that a renter cannot authorize.
For short outages, generally yes: batteries switch over instantly and silently, need no fuel, and cost a fraction of a whole-home generator up front. For multi-day outages, a generator still wins, because it keeps producing power as long as it has fuel while a battery empties in hours. Base Power and Energywell both support connecting a portable generator to recharge the battery during an extended outage, which gets you most of both.
No. Base Power has the widest footprint, covering much of the Texas retail-choice market plus co-op and utility partnerships. Octopus PowerStore launched to a limited number of homes in deregulated Texas. Energywell is invitation-only or available through partner channels. Availability also depends on your electrical panel, meter location and HOA rules, all of which are checked during a site survey.
Energywell, at roughly $5,760 over three years for a home using 1,000 kWh per month. Base Power comes to about $6,527 including its $695 installation fee, and Octopus PowerStore to about $6,768 — its $45 monthly battery subscription is what puts it last despite requiring nothing down. Over five years the order does not change: Energywell around $9,600, Base Power $10,415, Octopus $11,280. These totals include energy, delivery charges and all monthly fees.
Compared with a plain fixed-rate Texas plan at about 14.5 cents per kWh all-in, the battery premium works out to roughly $15 a month with Energywell, $36 with Base Power, and $43 with Octopus PowerStore at 1,000 kWh of monthly usage. At 2,000 kWh those figures drop, because the lower energy rates offset more of the fixed fees. For comparison, a professionally installed whole-home standby generator costs roughly $13,000 to $18,000 before fuel and servicing.
How we scored these
Each provider was rated on ten attributes, each on a five-point scale, for a maximum of 50 points, then converted to a 100-point overall score. All attributes are weighted equally. Ratings reflect terms published by each company on its own website as of July 2026, plus contemporaneous trade press coverage of the Octopus–Lunar launch. Where a company does not publish a figure, we score it lower rather than assuming a favorable value — and say so in the cell.
Pricing shown is for Texas and, where a utility must be specified, for Oncor territory. Your quote will differ by ZIP code, utility, home size and panel configuration. Always read the Electricity Facts Label and the battery services agreement before enrolling. This page is editorial and does not constitute a recommendation for your specific home.
