How to earn money with LUMA's CBES program by sharing the energy from your smart battery

Independent guide · Updated: August 23, 2026 · 5 min read

Picture this: your battery doesn't just protect you from blackouts — it also pays you for helping keep the lights on across the island.

It's not science fiction — it's LUMA's CBES (Customer Battery Energy Sharing) program, and it's already live in Puerto Rico. Here we break it down in plain English, no jargon.

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What is a "Virtual Power Plant" (VPP)?

Instead of firing up an expensive, polluting central power plant every time the grid is about to buckle, LUMA does something smarter: it connects thousands of home batteries over the internet and uses them all at once as if they were a single giant plant. That network of connected batteries is called a Virtual Power Plant (VPP). And your battery can be part of it — getting paid to participate.

The heart of the program: $1.00 per kWh

• During moments of high demand or emergency on the grid, your smart battery exports a small surplus of clean energy to help stabilize the island.
• LUMA pays you a $1.00 premium for every shared kWh.
• These credits add up and are paid out on a regular basis — it's passive income for something your battery does automatically.

Depending on your equipment and how many times the program activates, many households can see hundreds of dollars a year in credits (amounts are estimates and vary — no one can promise you an exact figure).

Fear #1: "What if they leave me without a battery during a blackout?"

This is the question everyone asks — and the answer will put your mind completely at ease:

• You set a "Minimum Emergency Reserve" from your brand's app (Tesla, Enphase, etc.). For example, 40% or 50%.
• The CBES program NEVER touches that reserve. Only the surplus above your limit is shared.
• In other words: your fridge, your lights, and your AC stay protected no matter what. You share what you have to spare, never your private backup.

Think of it this way: you decide how much energy you keep for your family, and only the "leftover" goes out to help the grid (and pay you).

How does it work, step by step?

• You have (or install) an approved battery — Tesla Powerwall, Enphase, Fortress Power, among others.
• A certified installer enrolls you in the CBES program through the interconnection with LUMA.
• You set your minimum reserve in the app (you're in charge).
• The battery exports the surplus automatically during grid events.
• You receive your credits — without doing anything else.

Who qualifies?

Generally you need to be a LUMA customer and be on Net Metering, have an approved battery with an internet connection for monitoring, and have a certified installer set up the interconnection correctly.