Your battery. Our investment.
Zero upfront.
Grid Core Energy installs, owns, and operates commercial battery systems at your business. You pay nothing upfront — we capture the energy savings and you get backup power, price certainty, and resilience.
How Shadow Billing Works
Your total energy cost stays the same. Your business gets backup power and price certainty. We capture the optimization value our technology generates.
We install and own the battery
Grid Core Energy purchases, installs, and owns a commercial battery system at your business — wired directly to your main electrical panel. No cost to you.
Our software optimizes 24/7
Our AI platform charges the battery during cheap off-peak hours and discharges during expensive on-peak hours — capturing the maximum TOU rate spread every day. It also responds to utility Virtual Power Plant (VPP) signals for additional grid revenue.
We measure the value generated
Every kilowatt-hour discharged, every demand spike avoided, every VPP event responded to — measured in real time. Our Shadow Billing engine calculates exactly what your energy profile would have cost without the battery versus what it actually cost.
You pay us a monthly service fee
We invoice you monthly for the optimization value we generated — your total energy cost (utility bill + our fee) equals what you were paying before. You gain: backup power, price certainty, and protection against rising utility rates. We capture: the arbitrage spread, demand savings, and VPP credits.
The Net Effect on Your Business
Three Ways to Work With Us
Every configuration uses a 30 kWh FranklinWH commercial battery. Grid Core owns the battery in all three options. You choose the level of involvement that fits your business.
Battery Only
Any commercial customer — the simplest entry point with no customer capital required.
- 30 kWh / 20 kW FranklinWH system
- TOU arbitrage — charges off-peak, discharges on-peak
- Demand charge reduction
- VPP revenue sharing from Year 3
- $100/month fixed service fee
- 20% SOC backup reserve — always maintained
- Full remote monitoring and optimization
"$100/month gives your business backup power — a generator costs $200–$500/month just to sit there."
Battery + Customer Solar
Capital-available customers who want the strongest long-term ROI. After solar payback (~3 yrs), customer is net positive.
- 30 kWh / 20 kW FranklinWH battery (Grid Core owned)
- Customer-funded solar system (~$5K–$8K net after ITC)
- Solar savings ~$1,750/yr credited to customer
- All battery optimization captured by Grid Core
- $100/month fixed service fee
- After solar payback: customer earns back more than the service fee
- Grid Core EPC margin at install
"We handle the battery. You fund the solar. In 3 years the solar pays for itself and your service fee is covered by solar savings."
Grid Core Solar + Battery
Businesses that want everything at zero upfront. Grid Core owns both the solar and battery — capturing all optimization value.
- 13 kW Sol-Ark solar system (Grid Core owned)
- 30 kWh / 20 kW FranklinWH battery (Grid Core owned)
- Full solar generation captured by Grid Core
- Maximum TOU arbitrage + demand management
- Highest VPP revenue potential
- $100/month fixed service fee
- $0 upfront — Grid Core funds 100% of capex
"We install solar and a battery. You pay nothing. Your utility bill drops to zero. We keep the optimization value — you keep the lights on."
All options include a 15-year service agreement. FranklinWH aPower 2 — 30 kWh / 20 kW, LFP chemistry, 4,000-cycle warranty. 20% SOC backup reserve maintained at all times.
The Numbers That Drive This Business
Equipment financing covers 70% of every system. The federal Investment Tax Credit covers most of the rest. Grid Core's net equity requirement per deployed system: under $1,000.
How a Single System Gets Funded
Grid Core deploys a $38,205 asset for roughly $916 in net equity. Monthly debt service: $294. Monthly revenue: $478+.
Best-Fit Customer Profiles
We screen customers by load profile — the right site dramatically improves system economics.
Medical Clinics & Urgent Care
- Critical power resilience — never lose HVAC or equipment
- High demand charges on SRP E-32
- Strong case for Enhanced Resiliency tier ($35–$75/mo add-on)
Cold Storage & Refrigeration
- Power outage = product loss — backup reserve is non-negotiable
- Peak demand charges driven by compressor loads
- Evening load profile — maximum battery arbitrage value
Restaurants & Food Service
- Evening load = highest TOU arbitrage at SRP
- Demand spikes during dinner service manageable
- Backup power protects inventory during outages
Small Commercial Offices
- Daytime load — optimal for Option 3 (solar + battery)
- Demand charge reduction is primary value driver
- Price certainty pitch resonates with lease-burdened tenants
Built for the Energy Transition
Grid Core Energy is a Phoenix-based Battery-as-a-Service company. We deploy commercial energy storage at zero cost to businesses — and operate it to capture the value that SRP and APS leave on the table every single day.
The Problem We Solve
Arizona commercial customers pay some of the highest demand charges in the country. SRP's E-32 rate structure means that a single 15-minute peak can add hundreds of dollars to a monthly bill — regardless of how much total energy was used.
Battery storage can eliminate most of that cost. But the hardware is expensive, the software is complex, and most small businesses don't have the capital or the expertise to deploy it themselves.
Grid Core solves both problems. We fund the hardware. We run the software. Customers pay a fixed monthly fee — less than the savings we generate — and pocket the difference.
Why Phoenix, Why Now
- SRP and APS rate structures create some of the largest TOU arbitrage spreads in the US
- 300+ days of sun means solar + storage economics are exceptional
- Section 48E ITC provides 30% federal credit on all system capex
- Commercial real estate density in Metro Phoenix creates high-volume deployment opportunity
- Virtual Power Plant programs launching in 2025 add a third revenue stream
How We Operate
Asset-Backed Economics
Every battery we deploy is a hard asset on our balance sheet. We build durable, bankable revenue — not software subscriptions.
Customer-First Design
Our model only works if customers see real value. Shadow Billing means our incentives are perfectly aligned — we earn more when we save more.
Grid-Beneficial Operations
Distributed battery storage reduces peak demand on the grid, deferring costly infrastructure upgrades. We profit by helping the grid — not straining it.
Transparency by Default
Every customer gets full visibility into their system performance, energy savings, and billing. No black boxes.
Leadership
Physician-entrepreneur with deep experience at the intersection of capital allocation, operations, and technology. Founded Grid Core Energy to bring institutional-grade battery infrastructure to small commercial businesses that utilities and solar companies have ignored.
Get Your Free Energy Assessment
We'll analyze your utility bills, identify your peak demand profile, and show you exactly how much Grid Core can save — with zero upfront cost to your business.