Buyer's Guide

Your journey begins with submitting your information on the Base website.

Once you have been deemed eligible, Base will reach out to you to begin your journey to installation. Here is an overview of what to expect:

• Enrollment: You sign your battery agreement and place a deposit for installation. You will later sign your REP agreement.
• Home photos: Take and upload pictures of your home's electrical system that help us understand how to configure your battery at your house.
• Permitting (2-8 weeks): Base submits your installation paperwork to the utility and the municipality. You'll get a couple of documents from them to sign to proceed.
• Installation: You book an installation date, and Base Engineers will install on the day you book.

1. Enrollment

Battery Enrollment

To confirm your enrollment, you'll be prompted to: Sign the battery agreement, which is described further below.

After signing the agreement and submitting the deposit, We'll notify the permitting team, who will begin submitting paperwork to the utility and municipality for approval.

Battery Agreement Details

Read the full Agreement by clicking this link.

You can think of the Battery Agreement like a lease, but without recurring fees. Here’s a summary:

• Base can access the battery when necessary, and handles maintenance & warranty. All applicable warranties from the installer and manufacturer are passed to you.
• Base will be your energy provider for the life of the battery and will renew energy prices annually below the market average
• If you move, you can transfer to the next homeowner at no cost to you or them
• As Base is in Beta, back up energy should not be used for life critical devices and cannot be guaranteed
• You can't steal or damage the battery without fees.

If you ever want to cancel with Base, you only have to pay for de-installation, which is $1,000. You don’t have to pay for de-installation if you move after 5 years, transfer to the next homeowner, or if the renewal price exceeds market average.

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Does electricity that's stored in the Base battery flow back to the grid?

The reason we were able to offer the battery at such low up front cost is that we use it to perform grid balancing operations. This pays back the $15,000+ up front investment that Base makes in the hardware, while you still get the benefit of outage protection.

Why is there no reference to my electricity rates in my battery agreement?

The battery agreement is entirely divorced from the retail energy agreement with the exception that the battery agreement can be severed if Base does not meet its obligations to maintain rates in stride with the industry average. Once the battery is installed, we will transfer you to our retail electricity service and you'll receive the rate that we quoted you in our consultation and site survey.

Is there a minimum state of charge guarantee?

Base will make every effort to maintain a minimum state of charge of 20%. We'll also make attempts to charge your battery in anticipation of predictable, long-duration outage events. We are unable to write these commitments into the agreement because unlikely technical faults in the battery could cause the state of charge to dip below 20% or fail to charge in anticipation of an outage. Most other batteries/generators will have similar "no-guarantee" terms.

What happens if something goes wrong during installation or over the useful life of the battery?

Installation issues would be covered by the liability insurance of the contractor. If helpful, our licensed, bonded, insured and certified electrician contractor license through the Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation is #476697. Our hardware is UL certified & fire safety rated, adhering to the latest standards. We also have comprehensive general liability insurance to address any unforeseen incidents. In the unlikely event of a problem, we're prepared to handle it responsibly. Separately, Base is in charge of warranty & maintenance.

Are there protections from Base raising its REP rates at renewal?

Base has committed to always being at or below the 50th percentile of comparable retail plans every time we renew your plan. We're also incentivized to keep you as a customer since our income stream is tied to the number of years that the battery remains on your property.

Retail Electricity Provider (REP) Enrollment

Once we install the battery, we'll transfer you over to our REP at the fixed price we quoted you in the consultation and site survey.

If your current REP contract is up within the next 3 months, we’ll schedule your switch and installation to avoid triggering the early cancellation fee. If not, we’ll cover up to $250 of your early cancellation fee for switching. Please contact us to review your exact situation so we can help.

REP Contract Details

Please read our Terms of Service and Your Rights as a Customer.

We will not be able to switch you to our REP until you've paid all invoices under REP contract details.

2. Home Photos

After you've signed your agreement we'll ask for you to take and upload photos and measurements of the following:

(1) A photo of your meter (circle with number on it on side of your home).

(2) Open up your main panel by the meter and take a photo of it. Be sure that the numbers that indicate the amperage and the labels for each breaker are visible in the photo.

(3) Take 15 paces back from the wall with your main panel and meter (or as far as your property line will allow) and take a picture, ideally capturing all available wall space on the side of your home with the main panel. We need a photo that is flat to the wall (no side angles). If you are unable to capture all available wall space, or there is a fence, repeat this process for the section of wall that was not captured.

(4) Measure the distance between any two points in the above photo so that we can scale it.

(5) Finally, take a photo of your sub panel, which is typically found in the garage. Be sure that the numbers that indicate the amperage and the labels for each breaker are visible in the photo.

You can always choose to schedule a consultation call with us to walk through the site survey together.

The Base engineering team will review these photos to ensure that we can configure with your existing electrical system. You will be notified within 48 hours.

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3️. Permitting

Once you have submitted your contract and deposit, our team will work to coordinate with your municipality and your distribution utility to acquire the proper permits. Although Base will assume the leading role in driving these permits forward, we'll need your signature on a couple of documents. Receiving the proper permits can take between 2-8 weeks.

Utility Permits

Base will submit permits on your behalf to gain permission to connect the battery to the distribution grid. We'll need your signature on two documents in order to gain approval:

• Tariff Application - Your distribution utility will verify that you have granted us permission to submit permits on our behalf. Please e-sign that document as soon as it lands in your inbox
• Interconnection Agreement (IA) - You will also need to sign the final agreement for interconnection,.

It's crucially important that you sign these documents in a timely manner. Your distribution utility will not proceed with the permitting process until they receive your signature.

Municipality Permits

Each municipality has slightly different requirements. Depending on your location, we may need your signature on various documents, or we may not need a permit entirely. Your Base Representative will contact you if there are any required actions.

4️. Installation

When Base has obtained the proper permits from your municipality and distribution utility, a Base representative will personally coordinate with you regarding your installation.

Scheduling

You will likely schedule your installation date 1-2 weeks ahead of time. When the installation is scheduled, you will receive a calendar invite and an email with any other information specific to your installation.

Installation Day

Battery Installation will only take one day from 9AM to 5PM. There will be a period during which power will be cut to your home as we configure backup functionality.

Base electricians will be in touch with you via text to inform you of their arrival and departure, connect the battery to your wifi, and give you notice of power being cut to your home – it's important that you are accessible via text on installation day. When your installation is complete, one of our electricians will give you a short demo of the system. It is helpful, but not necessary if you are home.

How to use the Battery

Our REP will provide you energy from the grid when the grid is working and our battery will back you up when the grid is down. The switch from on-grid to off-grid is automatic – the .3 second delay during the transfer will seem to you like a flicker or dimming of your lights. 

Although our coverage is largely automated, there are a few reasons we may need your help to ensure proper functionality. If you notice that your battery is not powering your home and there is still capacity stored within it, call Base immediately and we will talk you through how to resolve the issue.

Payment

A Base representative will reach out to you with a stripe link to collect your final payment. You will receive confirmation from us upon payment completion.