Tesla has received approval to supply electricity to households and businesses across Britain after the energy regulator Ofgem granted the company an electricity supply license, a media report said.
The license allows the company founded by Elon Musk to provide electricity to domestic and commercial customers in England, Scotland and Wales, according to The Guardian.
The move is expected to mirror Tesla’s existing energy model in Texas, where the company operates a retail energy service known as Tesla Electric.
The service will power homes, electric vehicles and community with low-cost sustainable electricity, according to the report.
Tesla’s license in Britain allows the company to supply electricity but not dual-fuel contracts, meaning customers would still need a separate tariff for gas.
In Texas, Tesla also runs a “virtual power plant” system that allows customers to store electricity in Powerwall home batteries and sell excess energy back to the grid.
In Britain, a similar virtual power plant system for Powerwall owners currently operates through the energy supplier Octopus Energy.
Tesla has not disclosed how many Powerwall batteries it has sold in Britain, though the company has sold more than 250,000 electric vehicles in the country.
Tesla’s car sales in the UK declined 37% from 3,852 units to 2,422 units in February compared with the same period last year, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders cited in the report.
The group estimated Tesla’s UK market share at 1.34% this year, below BYD at 2.64% and BMW at 5.43%.
By Merve Berker
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr