Business
Sunrun Customers Power Through Multi-Day Outages, Help Neighbors in the Aftermath of Hurricane Beryl
Sunrun customers utilized solar-plus-storage systems to keep their lights on, food refrigerated, and fans running during widespread outages that affected
About this update from Sunrun Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Sunrun customers utilized solar-plus-storage systems to keep their lights on, food refrigerated, and fans running during widespread outages that affected millions of Texans\nSAN FRANCISCO, July 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- During prolonged power outages in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, more than 1,600 customers of Sunrun (Nasdaq: RUN), the nation’s leading provider of clean energy as a subscription service, in the greater Houston area were able to keep their homes energized with more than 70,000 hours of backup energy provided by their solar-plus-storage systems. Beryl slammed ashore as a Category 1 storm on July 8, knocking out power to nearly 3 million homes and businesses in Texas. Some residents waited more than a week for grid power to be restored in their area. “I went without utility power for nine days, but everything in my house that I needed power for was available because of my Sunrun panels and battery,” said Michael Shepard from Porter, TX. “It’s been essential, and I recommend it to anybody so that they can have the ability to store the sun’s energy and be self-sufficient during these outages.” Sunrun’s systems charge the batteries during the day using solar energy collected by the panels, which simultaneously powers the home. During the night, the home is powered solely by the stored energy discharged from the batteries. This renewable process ensures customers can endure extended grid outages. In Shepard’s case, he was able to power his home for over 200 consecutive hours without needing to procure gas for a noisy, polluting generator. “Our hearts go out to everyone affected by Hurricane Beryl and the subsequent grid outages that have left many struggling to secure basic necessities,” said Sunrun CEO Mary Powell. “We are also deeply saddened by reports of numerous hospitalizations due to carbon monoxide poisoning from portable generators. We believe that combining residential solar with at-home batteries is a better, healthier, and safer solution to protect families and households from these types of life-threatening power outages.” In the days and weeks following Beryl’s landfall, more than 1,600 Sunrun customers relied on their solar-plus-storage systems for backup power, accumulating a total of 70,000 backup hours. On average, each customer received 44 hours of backup power, indicating that the typical Sun...