LUMA Customer Battery Energy Sharing Program

With Enphase IQ Batteries, most electric customers in Puerto Rico can earn valuable incentives for helping reduce peak demand on the electric grid.

Get paid to help the grid

By enrolling in the Customer Battery Energy Sharing (CBES) program (the “Program”), you are eligible to receive a performance incentive of $1.00 for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) of power delivered during LUMA Energy’s battery demand response events. For example, three Enphase IQ Battery 5Ps with a useable energy capacity of 15 kWh are estimated to be eligible to earn incentives of over $1,000 each year if the batteries deliver up to 80% of their energy capacity during every demand response event.1 Participants earn money based on their level of participation in demand response events, so the more you participate, the more you’ll earn.

Participants accepted into the Program will receive quarterly performance incentives directly from Virtual Peaker, Enphase’s Aggregator for the Program, based on the total energy (measured in average kilowatt-hours) they deliver during LUMA Energy’s demand response events each quarter. These performance incentive rates are locked in place until Program funding runs out. Participants can expect between 75 and 100 demand response events a year, and events are expected to average about two hours each. Participation in demand response events is 100% optional, though opting out of events will impact your incentive.

See the relevant links and FAQs below for more details.

Frequently Asked Questions

All residential and small commercial electricity customers enrolled in LUMA’s Net Energy Metering Program who own an installed and interconnected² Enphase IQ Battery that’s connected to a solar photovoltaic (PV) system can apply for the Program. Note that the customer's interconnection agreement must reference both the solar PV and battery systems to participate in the Program.

After your Enphase IQ Battery is installed, commissioned, and you have permission to operate (PTO), you’ll be able to apply to participate in the Program through the Enphase Enrollment Portal. You will need to provide the following information and agree to the Program Terms and Conditions (T&Cs) as well as the Enphase Participant Agreement to enroll:

  • Name, email, address, phone number
  • LUMA Energy account number and premise ID found on your LUMA electricity bill

Upon completing your enrollment application through the portal, you’ll receive an automatic email message notifying you of next steps. Applications are typically accepted or rejected within two to three weeks. If you are determined to be ineligible, you’ll be notified that your application was denied. If your enrollment application is determined to be invalid, the Program Aggregator (as defined below) or Enphase may reach out to you requesting additional information. Please contact the Program Aggregator if you have any questions about enrollment by emailing luma@virtual-peaker.com.

The Program will be implemented by companies known as Program Aggregators, independent from LUMA Energy, that will enable participating customers to discharge their battery storage systems during times with high demand or generation shortage. Enphase is working with Virtual Peaker as the Program Aggregator for Enphase batteries enrolled in this Program. They are responsible for scheduling the demand response events called by LUMA Energy, monitoring and reporting battery performance during demand response events, and paying participating Enphase battery customers for their participation in the events each quarter. Please note that customers cannot be enrolled with more than one Program Aggregator at a time.

LUMA Energy’s CBES Program is a next-generation solution that will contribute to better system reliability for all customers and incorporate clean, renewable energy into Puerto Rico’s electric grid. In exchange for your participation in the program, the Program Aggregator will reward you with a performance incentive of $1.00 for every kilowatt-hour of battery energy discharged during LUMA Energy’s demand response events.

Table 1 below summarizes the estimated annual customer performance incentives for various quantities of IQ Battery 10/10Ts or IQ Battery 5Ps—assuming the batteries deliver up to 80% of their energy capacity during every demand response event. You can maximize your incentive earnings by setting your Battery Discharge Limit to 20% or lower, but Enphase does not recommend setting your Battery Discharge Limit below 10% if your batteries are intended to be used to provide backup power in case of a grid outage.

Table 1: Annual customer performance incentive estimates per enrolled IQ Battery

Table_1_23rd_August

These estimated incentives are performance-based, so your actual incentives will be based on your battery’s energy discharged during all demand response events each quarter. Earnings will also depend on when you are accepted and activated to participate in the Program. Your battery system performance and resulting incentive could also vary based on your solar and battery system size, configuration, settings (like the System Profile or Battery Discharge Limit), internet connectivity, interconnection agreement (like power export limits), and other factors.

The $1.00 per kWh performance incentive rate will be available at least through June 28, 2025. After this time, incentives could be revised by LUMA Energy or the Program Aggregator. Enphase has no liability to participants for any loss, damage, cost, or expense incurred as a result of, or in connection with, participation in the Program. All customer incentive payments are the responsibility of the Program Aggregator.

Your IQ Battery’s contribution to demand response events will be calculated, approved, and paid by your Program Aggregator each quarter in which you participated in the Program. The Program Aggregator targets sending out customer incentive payments within a few months after the end of each quarter. Please contact the Program Aggregator if you have any questions about incentive payments by emailing luma@virtual-peaker.com.

The Program Aggregator and LUMA calculate your incentive payment based on the total energy discharged from your battery over the course of all events each quarter. If your battery does not participate in a demand response event—whether that’s because it’s not yet enrolled in the Program, is offline due to loss of internet connection,3 you opt-out of an event, or if your battery system cannot discharge when needed for any other reason—you will receive a value of 0 kWh for that demand response event, which will reduce your total energy discharged as well as performance incentive for the quarter.

The Program Aggregator and LUMA use the data reported from your Enphase battery system to derive your battery’s energy discharged. All incentive payments are the responsibility of the Program Aggregator.

After enrollment, acceptance, and activation in the Program, you can use your Enphase App to monitor each event you participate in and see your historical performance. You can access event and performance monitoring under Menu > Services > Grid Services > Dashboard > History in the app. Event and performance monitoring examples are shown in the screenshots below. The Enphase App is available for download on Apple’s App Store and Google Play.

LUMA_FAQ_How can I Monitor

Yes. By default, your battery settings will be configured to help maximize your performance incentive earnings. Enrolled and activated batteries will participate in demand response events regardless of which battery operating mode you have selected, unless: 1) you choose to opt-out of the event, 2) your stored battery energy capacity is too low (for example, if the battery state of charge is less than your selected Battery Discharge Level), or 3) you have lost your high-speed internet connection (like Wi-Fi or Ethernet) to your Enphase gateway.

In addition, if you’ve enabled your battery’s Storm Guard feature, Storm Guard will be automatically overridden during all demand response events. Note that LUMA Energy has advised they will not call demand response events before or during major storms that could result in widespread grid power outages. In addition, your battery will be set to Full Backup mode 12 hours before each event start time until each event end time. Your battery mode will revert to the original settings once each event is complete. These changes will occur automatically before and after each demand response event.

Electric utility companies typically implement demand response programs to reduce peak demand, which lowers electricity costs for all customers, improves day-to-day service reliability, and minimizes the impact of load shedding. A demand response event occurs when the participating utility or Program Aggregator requests that program participants with flexible load devices, like Enphase IQ Batteries, reduce electricity demand or directly supply energy to the electric utility grid during peak demand periods. Participants of demand response programs are eligible to receive incentives in exchange for helping to reduce peak demand.

In this case, LUMA Energy and the Program Aggregator will make adjustments to your IQ Battery, such as discharging your battery at a specific rate, during peak demand events. Participants will be able to see when peak demand events have been scheduled in the Grid Services section of the Enphase App.

Participants can expect demand response events to occur between 75 and 100 times a year, for a maximum of four hours per event, primarily between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m., although events can be called at other times. The expected average event duration will be two hours. Events can occur any weekday of the year, excluding public holidays, and are more likely to occur in April through December.

You may opt out of any event with no penalty. Once the Program Aggregator schedules an event, an email event notification will be sent to you 24 hours before the event, or sooner if the event is under the 24 hour threshold. Customers can opt out of the event by clicking the Opt Out button within the email event notification or using the Enphase App. You can opt out of individual events in the Enphase App by clicking on the Opt Out button for an upcoming event. However, opting out of events will reduce your performance incentive. You can access event opt-outs under Menu > Services > Grid Services > Dashboard > Ongoing and Upcoming in the Enphase App. Event opt-out steps are shown in the screenshots below.

How can I opt out of demand response events?

There is no commitment to enroll for a specific period. Participants can unenroll at any time. In the event that the Program Aggregator or Enphase determine you are no longer eligible or have violated the terms of the Program, your participation will be terminated. Grounds for termination could include, but are not limited to, a participant enrolling in a conflicting program, tampering or attempting to tamper with the operation of the Program, or providing false information within the context of the Program.

This Program is only available to residential and small commercial customers who have an Enphase IQ Battery storage system connected to a solar photovoltaic (PV) system and are also enrolled in LUMA’s Net Energy Metering Program.

Participants keep the functionality of their Enphase IQ Battery, including backup power, in several ways. First, although Storm Guard will be overridden during demand response events, LUMA Energy will not call a demand response event if the weather forecast calls for extreme weather that could result in widespread grid power outages. This allows participants to keep their batteries fully charged in preparation for a possible outage. Second, participants can always opt out of individual demand response events if they’re concerned about a possible outage occurring during, or after, a demand response event. Keep in mind that opting out of events will reduce your performance incentives. Third, your battery’s adjustable Battery Discharge Limit will enable you to have a reserve of backup energy in case of a grid outage during, or immediately after, a demand response event.

You can choose how much stored energy you want to make available for the Program and reserve what’s left in your home energy for yourself by adjusting your Battery Discharge Limit. We recommend setting your Battery Discharge Limit to 20% to help maximize your performance incentive earnings while preserving some battery energy for any possible power outages. You can adjust your Battery Discharge Limit under Menu > Services > Grid Services > Dashboard > Battery Discharge Limit in the Enphase App.

No, participation alone does not void your Enphase battery warranty.

If you are already enrolled in the Program and wish to unenroll, please contact luma@virtual-peaker.com with “Unenroll” in the subject line. Participants can unenroll from the Program at any time.

If you do not have an Enphase IQ Battery installed, the first step is to reach out to your Enphase solar installer or find a new Enphase installer to get an accurate quote for your home energy system. Find an installer in your area here.

You are encouraged to talk with your Enphase installer about additional battery incentives that may be available. For example, Enphase solar and battery systems installed in Puerto Rico are sales tax exempt.

Enphase is committed to the customer experience. Participating customers can email gridservicessupport@enphaseenergy.com for dedicated customer service related to the Program or any customer service needs. Please contact the Program Aggregator if you have any questions about enrollment or incentive payments by emailing luma@virtual-peaker.com. We also encourage you to visit LUMA Energy’s CBES Program website to learn more about specific Program requirements.


1 Assumes there are 85 demand response events each year that are each two hours long. Delivering less than 80% of your battery’s energy per event, fewer demand response events per year, and longer event durations can result in lower annual incentives. 
2 Interconnected batteries are connected to the internet and the electric grid. Note that grid interconnection is a requirement to participate in the program. 
3 In most cases, there will be 0 kWh credited when there is no internet connection because the Enphase back-up cellular connection alone does not provide a reliable response to LUMA’s request for grid support.
 

Start now

Maximize your performance incentive by starting today. If you’re interested in learning more about the Program, contact your local installer here.

Thanks for your continued commitment to clean energy, and for being part of a renewable future powered by the sun.