![]() Savings would likely be lower for a plug-in hybrid, which uses less electricity to travel the same distances.Įv.energy’s platform connects to participating electric vehicles and monitors their charging activity. Current participants are on track to save about $100 per year as compared to charging during peak times.Ī consumer who drives a Nissan Leaf 1,000 miles per month would end up saving roughly $15 each month in the summer - a savings of 17.3% compared to standard National Grid rates - and $9 per month - 10.4% savings - over the rest of the year. Since the program opened to the full customer base in April, about 1,000 people have enrolled. During the summer, customers will receive a rebate of 5 cents per kilowatt-hour for charging during off-peak hours the rest of the year the rebate will be 3 cents. National Grid hopes its new program will help drivers make that shift. “It is much more beneficial to the power grid and also the planet when drivers charge during off-peak hours,” said Joseph Vellone, head of North America for Ev.energy, a charging software company that is partnering with National Grid on the program. Getting drivers to charge their vehicles during times of lower demand could help avoid the worst of these impacts. If that pattern holds as more people buy electric vehicles, the transmission and distribution infrastructure will require expensive upgrades, and older, dirtier power plants will be called into action more often. Currently about 44% of electric vehicles’ charging in Massachusetts is done during times of peak demand, according to National Grid’s testimony to the state public utilities department. But Massachusetts has set the ambitious target of putting 300,000 zero-emissions vehicles on the road by 2025 as part of its plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.Īs electric vehicle adoption increases, so will the load on the power grid. Today, electric vehicles make up just 56,000 of the 5 million vehicles registered in the state. “It helps improve the business case for charging at home and hopefully encourages some customers to buy electric vehicles,” said Rishi Sondhi, clean transportation manager for National Grid. The goal of the program is to ease the burden on the grid, help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and motivate more drivers to consider switching from gasoline-fueled cars. and 1 p.m., when demand on the grid is lower and the power flowing into the system is generally cleaner and less expensive. The new program rewards customers who charge their vehicles between 9 p.m. ![]() Massachusetts utility National Grid has launched a new initiative to give drivers rebates for charging their electric vehicles during off-peak hours, but some advocates worry the incentives aren’t high enough to propel meaningful change.
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