Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is seeking customers interested in joining its upcoming Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) pilot programmes.
The combined natural gas and electric utility company supplies more than 16 million people across Northern and Central California.
Its upcoming programmes will offer customers with electric vehicles (EV) financial incentives for using bidirectional charging technology.
Such technology allows a customer’s EV to become a mobile battery to store electricity for onsite power or to send back to the grid during periods of peak demand.
PG&E will test the technologies in settings such as homes and businesses, as well as with local PG&E microgrids in select areas.
The company plans to enrol approximately 1,000 customers in the residential pilot, 200 customers in the commercial pilot and 200 customers in the microgrid pilot.
These programmes will support the company’s aim to facilitate three million EVs on the road in its service area by 2030, with the aim for more than two million of them to be equipped with vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capabilities.
Aaron August, PG&E’s Vice President, Utility Partnerships and Innovation said:Bidirectional EV charging is a game-changer for both the energy and transportation sectors. These pilot programs will help determine how to maximize the cost-effectiveness of bidirectional charging technology in providing a variety of customer and grid benefits.
PG&E’s V2X pilots will allow customers to use their EVs as backup energy sources, while also earning money and offsetting energy usage. This will help reduce customer bills, integrate renewable energy and support the grid as EV uptake increases.
