Case Study: Xcel Energy achieves validated residential battery demand response and 94% customer satisfaction with Resource Innovations

How Xcel Energy is Transforming Grid Reliability with Solar Battery Storage

Xcel Energy, a major electric utility serving homes and businesses across eight Western and Midwestern states, sought to test the viability of residential battery demand response to reduce peak load, shift solar generation, and increase grid resilience. To evaluate its Battery Connect pilot — a program that partnered with Tesla and SolarEdge and offered enrolled customers incentives to allow utility control of home batteries — Xcel Energy hired Resource Innovations to assess battery performance, customer experience, and the potential for a full-scale program.

Resource Innovations evaluated the 18‑month Battery Connect pilot (March 2021–Sept 2022) involving 125 participants, roughly 31 charge events and 41 discharge events, baseline analyses, interviews and customer surveys, and process evaluation. RI found quick event response with batteries reverting to normal operation after events, average start‑of‑day discharge capacity of ~9 kWh and average daily charge of ~16 kWh, an incremental increase in charge/discharge on event days, and 94% customer satisfaction — results that led Xcel Energy to advance with Resource Innovations into the next phase, Renewable Battery Connect, through 2026.

Xcel Energy