Energy storage startup Base Power began selling its massive home battery systems to Illinois residents yesterday, Canary Media was mentioned. Crucially, it will be the startup’s first foray into network territory operated by PJM Interconnection, the largest U.S. network provider by region, and one that has struggled particularly to deal with an onslaught of new data centers.
Beyond Illinois, PJM’s territory includes Northern Virginia, one of the densest data center regions on the planet. That density, combined with a lack of new generation sources, has caused wholesale electricity prices in PJM to nearly double over the past year. The power crisis has gotten so bad that AEP, one of the region’s largest utilities, has threatened to pull out of the market.
Base power started two years ago in Texas to build a virtual power plant with a focus on residential batteries. Base’s batteries, starting at 25 kilowatt hours, are larger than many of its competitors’ batteries, and instead of selling the batteries, it requires customers to buy electricity from them. In Illinois, its rates are 25% lower than ComEd’s.
The timing of the startup was also impeccable. Base currently operates more than 500 megawatt-hours of battery storage in Texas, charging when electricity prices are cheap and dispatching when the grid needs it most.
Its entry into the PJM grid comes at a time when the operator has come under scrutiny for fumbles in handling surging electricity demand. PJM had suspended applications for new generation sources starting in 2022, reopening the queue in April. Unlike Base, its timing couldn’t be worse – demand for electricity has skyrocketed over the past four years.
Base’s growth has accelerated since October, when it announced a $1 billion round led by Addition. This round follows closely on the heels of a $200 million round led by Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Valor Equity Partners in April 2025.
Historically, PJM has been slow to adopt new technologies such as distributed energy storage, but Base’s focus on the residential sector helps it make an end run around the hardening grid operator.
“We’re building capacity behind the meter at home, where there’s already interconnection, so we’re not waiting in the interconnection queue,” Zach Dell, founder and CEO of Base Power, told Canary Media.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This does not affect our editorial independence.
