The company announced a $200 million Lone Star State expansion to include a new factory in Travis County in April, and has plans to go national. Base Power CEO Zach Dell said in a news release that the company has been able to power thousands of Texas homes since its founding in 2023.
The details
The company offers backup power options and can lower customers’ monthly energy bills, according to its website. The backup options are powered by batteries, and the company has several options:
- A wall mounted 20 kilowatt-hour, or kWh, battery
- A single ground-mounted 25 kWh battery
- A dual ground mounted 50 kWh battery
“It switches on automatically in less than half a second,” Jones said. “It basically covers 97% of all outages today and can keep you going for days at a time.”
When these batteries are full and not powering the home during an outage, they can also help support the grid, Jones said.
“Not only does it protect people from outages, but it also prevents the rolling brownouts that I had experienced as a kid growing up in Dallas in the August and July time frame,” he said.
How it works
The service costs $695 up front for a 25 kWh battery, and $995 for a 50 kWh battery, the company's website states. Clients pay a monthly recurring cost starting at $20 a month after install.
“Super accessible for many Texans,” Jones said of the technology.
The company will make sure the battery can fit on a homeowner’s property by looking at a few images of the side yard where the meter can be found. It takes about a day to install the battery.
“We take care of practically everything from there,” Jones said.
The company’s energy plans can save people 10%-20% on their electricity bills, potentially adding up to hundreds of dollars a month, Jones said.
The background
Justin Lopas and Dell founded Base Power Company in North Austin in 2023 with the focus of providing people with relief from power outages in Texas. Dell began forming the idea for the company after Winter Storm Uri in 2021, which caused power outages across the state. He wanted to find a way to help people and support the state’s electrical grid.
Base Power expanded into DFW in August 2024 and entered the Houston market the following year.
Jones said the company has more expansion plans coming soon.
"We found the fastest way to solve the most people’s problems was to start in Texas," Jones said.
The company focuses on Texas because it's where the problem of affordable reliable energy is most pronounced, he said.
“If you ask any Texan, ‘Are you concerned about grid volatility? Have you seen prices increase?’ They'll for sure say yes,” Jones said. “If you ask any American that, I think more Texans than people in other states would answer yes to those two questions.”
Quote of note
“Base Power is committed to making energy more reliable and affordable—in the last year we've demonstrated meaningful progress on that mission,” Dell said in a news release.
The impact
Jones grew up in the DFW area, he said, and experienced power outages as a child. Today, Jones works to provide reliable electricity to people at affordable prices, he said.
“We’re sort of built for Texas neighborhoods like Richardson, Plano, Frisco,” Jones said.
