Utility companies want to pay you to generate power for the electrical grid

EnergyUtility companies want to pay you to generate power for the electrical gridSome states offer homeowners the option of generating their own power and sending what they don’t use back to the grid. Other states are preparing to.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Add NBC News to GoogleElectricity costs are going up. But what if your utility paid you instead?02:32Get more newsLiveonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 30, 2026, 10:00 AM EDTBy Maya Huter and Brian CheungHOUSTON — Jeff and Jenny Wright haven’t paid an electric bill for their Houston home in more than a year. Instead, the couple sells their unused power back to the grid in a system that some states hope can offer a way to help meet surging demand for electricity.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Americans today pay 40% more, on average, for their electricity than they did just six years ago.Generating their own power makes a big difference for the Wrights and rarely more so than it did this spring, when energy costs soared even higher because of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Nationwide, energy prices jumped 4% in April alone.“I’m getting fairly close to retirement, so cost control for us is a big thing,” said Jeff Wright.The Wrights have solar panels on their roof that are capable of powering the home appliances and the TVs they use on a daily basis.But they also have two Tesla battery packs mounted on the side of their home — the key equipment they needed in order to turn their home from a solar-powered stand-alone into part of a virtual power plant (VPP) network. Any excess energy not used by the Wrights can be stored and sent back to the central power grid to help stabilize it during times of peak demand.VPPs currently exist, or are in the works, in 35 states and Washington, D.C. The largest networks are in California and Texas.In Texas, the Wrights are paid a $240 yearly reward from their solar provider, Sunrun, on top...