How It Works
What Is a Behind-the-Meter PPA
Vespene builds and operates a power generation system on your property. You buy the electricity it produces at an agreed-upon rate — lower than your current grid rate — for the life of the contract. "Behind the meter" means the system sits on your side of the utility meter, generating power where you use it. The electricity never touches the grid, so you avoid transmission charges, distribution fees, and many of the costs that make up your utility bill.
You don't buy the equipment. You don't maintain it. You don't finance it. You simply buy electricity at a better price.
Zero Capital Investment
Vespene funds the entire project. There is no upfront cost, no equipment on your balance sheet, and no debt obligation. Your only commitment is to purchase the electricity the system produces at the agreed PPA rate.
Immediate Savings
Your PPA rate is priced roughly 20% below what you pay the utility today — savings start from day one. Grid rates keep climbing; your PPA rate stays predictable. The gap between what you would have paid and what you actually pay grows wider every year.
Grid Connection Stays Intact
Your utility connection is never removed. When demand exceeds system output, the grid fills the gap. If the system is offline for maintenance, you draw from the grid with no interruption. On-site generation supplements your grid power — it doesn't replace it.
Zero Fuel Cost Exposure
Vespene holds all natural gas contracts and absorbs all commodity price exposure. Your PPA rate is your rate — it does not fluctuate with gas markets.
Fully Managed Operations
Vespene owns and operates the generation equipment for the life of the contract. All maintenance, repairs, and system monitoring are included in your PPA rate. No staff, no attention, no operational complexity required from your facility.
Near-Zero Emissions
Bloom Energy fuel cells generate electricity through an electrochemical process — not combustion. The result is dramatically lower carbon output and a near-complete elimination of smog-forming pollutants like NOx, SOx, and particulate matter.
Why Behind-the-Meter
California commercial electricity rates averaged 25.54¢/kWh in 2024 — more than double the national average.1 These rates are not stabilizing. Approved utility rate cases through 2028 guarantee continued increases, driven by wildfire liability, grid hardening, aging infrastructure, and clean energy mandates.
A behind-the-meter PPA changes the equation. Instead of buying electricity from the grid at a rate that rises every year, you purchase power from an on-site system at a predictable rate for 20+ years. The grid rate goes up; your PPA rate stays on a fixed, low escalation. The wider the gap grows, the more you save.
1 U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Sales, Revenue, and Average Price, Table 4 (2024 annual data).