Walmart invests in Base Power and will sell its home batteries in Texas stores
Walmart has made an undisclosed strategic investment in Austin-based Base Power and, from November, will let shoppers at participating Texas Walmart and Sam's Club stores sign up for Base's home batteries with 20% off the standard upfront installation fee. Base says it has more than 35,000 members in Texas.
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Walmart has made a strategic investment in Base Power, a Texas home battery company, and will start selling Base's service in its Texas stores in November. Shoppers who sign up through participating Walmart and Sam's Club stores will get 20% off Base's standard upfront installation fee, according to Walmart's announcement on 30 October. Neither company disclosed the size of the investment.
What shoppers in Texas will be offered
Base does not sell batteries outright. In its model, the company installs, owns and maintains a battery system at the customer's home, and the customer pays an upfront fee. Base also sells electricity plans in the parts of Texas where it is allowed to, so the battery and the power supply come as one package. The battery is meant to keep a home running during an outage and to store cheap power for later use.
Under the new deal, Base representatives will be inside participating Walmart and Sam's Club stores in Texas to explain the service and sign people up. Walmart says the in-store offer starts in November and that the companies plan to bring it to other markets over time. The announcement does not list the participating stores or name the next markets.
The discount applies to the standard upfront installation fee only. Walmart's release does not give that fee in dollars, so this desk cannot say what the 20% saving works out to for a typical household. Anyone weighing the offer should check the full terms, including the electricity plan, directly with Base before signing up.
Who Base Power is
Base was founded in 2023 and is based in Austin. The company says it has more than 35,000 members in Texas, and that more than 20,000 of them already have a Base battery installed at home. Walmart's release quotes Base chief executive Zach Dell describing the goal as making reliable home energy more affordable, and Shayne Wahlmeier, senior vice president of Walmart Energy, saying the partnership gives Texas customers a new way to get backup power and save on energy.
MarketWatch also reported the investment on 30 October and, like the companies, did not give a dollar figure.
Why this matters for EV drivers
The deal is not about cars, but it touches the same household wiring. Many EV owners in Texas charge at home, and a home battery sits on the same electrical system as a wallbox charger. Whether a given battery can help with charging, and how much, depends on its size, the home's setup and the electricity plan, and Base's announcement does not make specific claims about EV charging. This desk is not suggesting the product suits every EV household.
Analysis: What stands out is the retail angle. Putting a battery sign-up desk inside big-box stores puts home storage in front of shoppers who might never visit an energy company's website.
For the battery industry, the investment is a sign that a major retailer sees home storage as a mainstream household purchase rather than a niche product. Whether the in-store model brings in large numbers of new customers is not yet known, and neither company has published sign-up targets.
What we still do not know
- How much Walmart invested, and what stake it holds.
- Which stores take part, and when the offer reaches markets outside Texas.
- The dollar amount of Base's standard upfront fee, and therefore the size of the discount.
This story is for information only and is not financial advice about energy plans or investments.
Earlier this week this desk looked at Ford's home power system and at why portable power stations are trending.
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