Introducing Palmetto Energy
Introducing Palmetto Energy
Our very own retail electricity plan that provides renewable grid energy for homes beyond their power produced by solar. The plan provides competitive import rates and matched buyback rates for excess solar production. Homeowners enroll in the retail plan when they go solar with LightReach, providing added savings and convenience by getting 100% of their home energy all from one place: Palmetto.
This first-of-its-kind bundle is exclusive in the market.
Our retail electricity plan gives Certified Installers a differentiated solution in the market: all of a homeowner’s power (rooftop + grid) from a single company, in a unified billing experience. The plan is for customers in Texas. Prior to activation, homeowners enroll during their NTP process or from their home.palmetto.com account in less than 2 minutes – no need for any hardware or service to the home.
Palmetto Energy Plan (Public Utility Commission of Texas REP #10340) a retail electricity provider, to offer transparent, affordable electricity -- all managed through the homeowner's home.palmetto.com account, including billing and customer support. Palmetto Energy becomes the customer’s retailer of record and handles customer enrollment, billing, payments, collections, and energy operations
Homeowner Benefits
Homeowners in retail choice areas of Texas are required to opt in to a retail plan for their electric service. Rooftop solar customers are especially encouraged to choose a plan that rewards them for their solar generation
However, choosing the wrong retail electricity plans can be costly and offer poor rewards for excess energy sold back to the grid. They can also create confusion by having multiple bills located in multiple places.
With our retail plan, homeowners gain added savings and convenience by getting 100% of their home energy all from one place: Palmetto.
Enrollment in the plan (or opt-out) is a required step to reach NTP. |
Battery Bonus Plan
LightReach now offers an exclusive retail electricity plan for solar buyback + Enphase, TPW, and SolarEdge battery storage. Homeowners with storage can choose to sign up for the Battery Bonus Plan, Palmetto uses the battery to balance the grid, earning homeowners $480/year credit on their retail electricity bill while still providing 1:1 matched solar buyback kWh rates, and also backup power during outages.
Why This Plan Helps You Win
Differentiate: Only LightReach offers its own, comprehensive solar + storage retail plan.
Simplify the offering: Promote the convenience of all power in one place with high ROI.
Secure your commissions: Homeowners can sign up for the plan before installation and this plan’s strong incentives should reduce cancellations.
Increase referrals: Limit costly escalations by having satisfied customers with lower bills.
Why Customers Love This Plan
High value: The Battery Bonus Plan offers amazing value to homeowners:
Import: Competitive kWh rates when importing and consuming energy from the grid
Export: Earn the same amount they pay for energy when panels produce excess solar power
Storage: Rewards $480/year to balance the grid while still offering backup during outages
Optional: This is an optional plan and not a requirement for homeowners.
Easy to understand: The Battery Bonus Plan delivers $40.00/month in credit, guaranteed.
Free nights plans have high daytime kWh rates and can result in higher overall cost.
Free nights plans can have minimum usage fees that are costly and hard to estimate.
Free nights plans can be expensive in storms when the battery is reserved for backup.
How To Sell The Battery Bonus Plan
Use LightReach. At any time and especially prior to system activation, homeowners should:
See the offer within the LightReach stipulations
Click “View Rate Plan” on the Palmetto Energy Plan
Sign up in minutes
Homeowners should note that:
Switch: Enrolling automatically switches the homeowner’s plan to Palmetto’s.
Battery: Palmetto will control it for grid balance; battery backup will be available for storms
Fees: Customers are responsible for any Early Termination Fees from their current provider.
Who Is Eligible?
This plan is currently available to:
LightReach solar customers
Those with Enphase, TPW, and SolarEdge batteries.
Located in a retail choice area of TX
We’ll expand to other battery brands and geographies soon.
These areas of eligibility are colored in the map and include these Transmission and Distribution Utilities (TDUs) service areas: AEP North, AEP Central, Oncor (Dallas-Fort Worth included), Centerpoint (Houston and surrounding areas), Lubbock Power & Light, TNMP.
*For more information please contact your Lightreach Relationship Manager
Sales Process & Sign Up
Palmetto Energy is available for all retail choice area Texas LightReach customers today.
Who Is Eligible: | Homeowners in retail choice areas of Texas. |
Where to Enroll: | Online via the homeowner's home.palmetto.com account. |
When to Sign Up: | Customers are able to enroll as they are undergoing the NTP process. A discount of 20% is automatically applied to their energy charges until their system is active |
Sign Up Time: | Less than 60 seconds. No hardware needed, no service required, and no need to contact their current provider. |
Matched 1:1 Buyback rate: | Homeowners get 1:1 credit for excess solar production (exports), at the same rate they pay for power usage (imports). |
Required Step: | The Palmetto Energy Plan is recommended for all customers. Enrollment in (or opting out of) the plan is a required step. |
Customers enroll during NTP or from within their home.palmetto.com account. Signup takes less than 2 minutes and is fully digital—meaning no new hardware, installation, nor service to the home is required. Their current provider will be switched in the background with no service interruption and there is no need for customers to contact their current provider—only pay their final bill when they receive it.
FAQ
1 | How is a customer's plan pricing calculated? | Pricing for the plan is determined by their location and includes various energy components such as grid connection fees, transmission and distribution fees and local taxes.
Customers can view their rate quote via the home.palmetto.com sign up process. |
2 | Fees? | There are no hidden fees. What customers see in their Electricity Facts Label ('EFL'') and Terms of Service (TOS) is what they get - clear, predictable, transparent pricing. |
3 | How does billing work? | With Autopay, the electricity bill is automatically charged to their credit card each month. The full bill amount will be processed within two business days of the due date. |
4 | Involved Parties | LightReach Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) provider or financier and owner of the PV System |
5 | Do credits expire? Early termination fees? | No, receive unlimited bill credits for the excess energy production.
No early termination fees (12 month term). |
6 | Renewable power imports. | Palmetto Energy ensures any electricity not provided by the solar system is provided from other renewable sources within Texas |
7 | Homeowner support? | Any support inquiries from customers can be routed by email <[email protected]>.
For power outage related inquiries, customers should reach out to their local transmission & distribution utility provider: (Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP, Lubbock Power & Light, TNMP). |
8 | Does LightReach cover termination fees from the current Retail Electricity Plan? | LightReach does not reimburse customers or installers for any termination fees associated with their existing REP. If the installer wishes to reimburse their customer directly, they are able to do so. |
9 | Paying for the Retail Electricity Plan? | The Retail Electricity Plan is paid just like current utility bills - via debit or credit card.
For the avoidance of doubt, this is separate from the standard LightReach PV billing, which is executed via ACH. |
10 | Availability | The Palmetto Energy Plan is available in most deregulated Texas markets which require all consumers to select a retail energy provider. It is not available in those utilities (typically independent munis or co-ops) which do not require/offer retail choice. |
11 | When they sign up with the Battery Bonus Plan, for how long is the $40 credit for? Does it last the entirety of the PPA/lease contract (25 yrs) or is it only limited to a certain time period? | It will be $40/mo for as long as the customer is enrolled in the Battery Bonus (grid electricity) plan.Typical for TX retail electricity plans, this Battery Bonus plan is a 12 month plan. Before it expires, Palmetto will offer the customer the option to renew for another term, seeking the same competitive rates and battery rewards (perhaps even better). If they don't take action, we'll automatically roll them into a month to month plan that continues on, which is common practice in TX retail electricity market. |
12 | How does the 20% discount work? | Starting May 5th, 2025, any new customer enrolling in Palmetto/LightReach’s retail (grid) electricity plan will automatically receive 20% off their grid Energy charges until their solar system is activated (PTO). This discount will appear on homeowners’ monthly retail electricity bill. |