The Sacramento Municipal Utility District is working on a pilot program with carmakers BMW of North America, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. on managed electric vehicle charging.
The pilot seeks to make it easier for customers to choose an EV. The program will align customers charging needs with the best time of the day for affordable rates.
“This pilot program and the lessons we’ll learn are important to help ensure that we chart a path forward that provides a seamless and easy customer experience while also balancing grid reliability and energy supply needs in a way that benefits all customers,” said Ed Hamzawi, director of Advanced Energy Solutions with SMUD, in a news release.
In addition to keeping customer’s electric rates lower for EV charging, the program could also help SMUD balance the electric load on the regional electric grid by orienting charging times, when possible, not to coincide with peak power demand cycles, generally from the afternoon to early evening during the warmer seasons.
The pilot program supports SMUD’s goal, announced a year ago, to eliminate all carbon emissions from its power supply by 2030 and to accelerate the use of renewable energy for more sustainable communities.
It's also a step toward the state’s goal of banning the sale of new fossil-fuel burning cars by 2035. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the goal in 2020, and the California Air Resources Board issued new rules on that order last week.
Part of the pilot program allows for secure and remote home-charging management by integrating on-board communications and smartphone apps. The car companies will create customized charge requests for EV owners to provide an ideal charging schedule. Customers will get incentives from the automakers for enrolling and participating in the pilot program, SMUD said.
“The collaboration with SMUD allows us to bring ChargeForward to more customers in California and to further incentivize the use of clean energy across the country. By participating in the smart charging program with SMUD, our customers play an active role in making the grid more reliable and more sustainable,” said Christian Voigt, BMW of North America’s e-mobility strategy manager, in a news release.
"Championing our country’s transition to an EV lifestyle means making charging easy for customers while responsibly managing local energy supplies in the most sustainable way possible," said Matt Stover, director of charging and energy services with Ford. (NYSE: F), in a news release. "By collaborating across the automotive industry and working with leading utilities like SMUD, Ford and others will help accelerate EV adoption in the greater Sacramento region and beyond, while helping electric vehicle drivers save costs associated with home charging."
Ty Jagerson, lead of vehicle-to-everything technology with GM (NYSE: GM), said the pilot program is an opportunity to explore the benefits of sustainable charging for both customers and utilities, in a news release, adding that it “underscores GM’s commitment to an all-electric future and EVs for everyone.”
