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Tesla’s GB subsidiary Tesla Energy Ventures has applied for an electricity supply licence, setting it up to compete with the likes of Octopus and other suppliers.
Elon Musk’s Tesla is laying the ground to become an electricity supplier in Britain, with the application late in July to Ofgem for a supply licence for domestic and non-domestic premises.
Under the Utilities Act 2000, Ofgem is unable to provide any details of the application, but if approved, it will open the way for Tesla to become the first new supplier to enter the market and to bring a new level of competition in over two years.
Presumably, the base of Tesla EV drivers and Powerwall battery owners would serve as a starting point and the availability of these products also could serve as an incentive for customers.
In particular, the company could use it to prop up its EV sales, much like the Octopus Energy arrangement introduced with BYD and subsequently other manufacturers.
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Tesla Energy Ventures was the registered name the company used when filing to retail electricity in Texas – the only other market in which it holds a licence.
There, the service is supplied by Tesla Electric, which will also be the name of the GB retail business.
In a now closed job application preparatory for the GB market entry, Tesla Electric’s approach was described: “We believe strongly that simplifying and improving the customer experience around retail electricity and virtual power plants is necessary to drive significant adoption amongst consumers.
“Delivering a seamless, simple customer experience will ensure that small-scale residential flexibility can be fully utilised to support the transition of the entire electricity grid to 100% renewables.”
The GB licence application was submitted by company director Andrew Payne, Head of Energy for Tesla in EMEA.
From an Amsterdam base, he is responsible for a team covering Megapack and Powerpack storage sales, policy, deployment and engineering.
Other directors of the Manchester-registered company are Texas-based Joseph Gruber, Vice President, Tax at Tesla, and Andrew Lam, a former legal adviser at Ofgem and currently Head of market access and business development, EMEA – autobidder and virtual power plant programmes.
