It has been almost a year since Chris Graf received an electricity bill delivered through the mail.
Not only does the technical manager, who lives in Round Rock, Texas, no longer receive a monthly demand for $250, but he actually gets money back from his supplier.
Since May 2023, Chris has pocketed $2,000 in rebates from his provider, Octopus Energy.
Instead of being at the mercy of the temperamental Texas grid, he is among a growing number of Americans becoming energy independent.
This means never having to pay for electricity, while also selling energy back to the grid for a profit.
Since May 2023, Chris has pocketed $2,000 in rebates from his supplier, Octopus Energy
In order to do this, Chris installed solar panels on his four-bedroom house near Austin in May last year and added two giant batteries to store the energy.
In the months since, he has also added another battery to increase the amount of solar energy he is able to store.
According to fresh figures from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) released this week, solar installations jumped in the US in 2023 – with residential installations up 13 percent on the year prior.
‘It’s nice not to have monthly bills coming in,’ Chris, who lives with his wife and daughter, told DailyMail.com.
‘It’s great to pay those costs up front as a one-time expense and then enjoy the monthly savings.’
When the Texas power grid is strained, his storage is full and wholesale electricity prices are high, Chris is able to sell back the excess energy his home has generated.
During the sweltering weather last August – which was the hottest on record for most of Texas – Chris said at times he exported enough electricity to power 10 other homes.
Chris installed solar panels on his four-bedroom house near Austin in May last year
Chris started with two Tesla Powerwall batteries to store the solar energy, and has since added a third
Largely to avoid federal regulation, independently-minded Texas is the only state in the US with its own energy grid.
The rest of the country is covered by two grids – one in the east and one in the west.
The Texas grid is operated by nonprofit corporation Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which is overseen by the state’s utility regulator and the Texas legislature.
While supporters of the so-called ‘energy island’ say it is a lure to business, others argue it puts the state’s 30 million residents at risk of blackouts.
In February 2021, over a week of freezing weather left over 4 million people without power – some for several days.
More than 200 people died during the devastating storm, which saw frozen utility plants unable to cope with the extreme demand from families to heat homes.
In the years since, residents of the Lone Star State have faced the threat of blackouts as power generation has struggled to keep up with a booming population and economy.
But for Chris, his newfound energy independence helps him feel reassured.
‘Whenever we have severe weather – including extended periods of extreme cold that we’re really not used to here in Texas – that causes strain on the grid. But we feel protected now,’ he said.
When there is excessive load on the grid, Chris added, he likes to know that he is putting power back and helping others.
‘That’s a good feeling that comes along with the system,’ he said.
Michael Lee, Octopus Energy CEO, told DailyMail.com: ‘Octopus customers give energy back to the grid for cash. This helps stabilize the grid when it needs it the most whilst putting money back into their pockets.
‘The adjustments are small but benefit all. It’s a win win.’
Texas increasingly experiences extreme weather, such as intense heat and sudden cold snaps, he added, which puts strain on the grid.
‘To prevent blackouts we must manage demand flexibly. This needs to be the grid of the future,’ he said.
Snow covered the Texas roads in February 2021 when hundreds of people died due to blackouts across the state millions were plunged into darkness for more than 70 hours
Millions were plunged into darkness for more than 70 hours amid extreme energy demand and overloaded frozen utility plants
In 2023, almost 800,000 households installed solar panels, according to the SEIA data.
If the number of residential installations continues growing at the same pace year-on-year, more than a million homes will have solar panels by 2026.
For the first time in history last year, solar accounted for more than half of all new electric generating capacity added to the grid across residential, commercial and utility sectors.
By 2035, President Joe Biden wants 40 percent of the nation’s electricity to be solar-powered as part of his landmark green legislation.
‘If we stay the course with our federal clean energy policies, total solar deployment will quadruple over the next ten years,’ said SEIA president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper.
Alongside the rise in solar panel installations in 2023, the number of households adding solar storage battery systems to their homes also increased.
Some 13 percent of homes adding solar panels also included batteries, according to the SEIA data. In 2024, it predicts a quarter of residential installations will also include storage.
Solar panel installations are on the rise in the US, according to data from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)
But while Chris may no longer receive monthly bills, it is not to say that his energy independence has not come at a price.
‘The total cost of the system is probably around $90,000,’ he said. ‘Solar is an expensive, long-term investment.
‘The panels themselves were probably about $60,000 and the Tesla Powerwall storage batteries were probably about $10,000 each to install.’
Chris estimates that it will take between 10 and 20 years to break even on the cost of installing the system.
On average, solar panel systems cost around $25,000, but the cost depends on many factors – how much sun exposure a home gets being the most important.
Chris wanted a large system, he said, so his ended up costing more.
Chris is able to track his family’s energy usage through his solar panel and battery system
For the millions of Americans who are unable to make this expensive long-term investment, there are still smaller adjustments that can be made around the house in order to save on energy bills.
For Chris, the key is simply understanding your power bill a little better.
‘Every appliance that you buy, even an air conditioner or a microwave oven, all of these things tell you how much power they consume,’ he said.
He recommends buying a smart plug, which you can plug into an outlet or an appliance and it will tell you how much electricity the appliance is using, and making sure you use energy-saving LED lightbulbs.
Smart thermostats are also a good investment, he said, which can be optimized to work with your home’s air conditioning system in the summer months.
‘The main thing is monitoring and taking more interest in how your power works,’ he said.
‘That way if you do ever want to make a jump to solar, you’re a little bit better educated in the vocabulary around electricity.’