San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), a Sempra Energy utility, and groups representing environment, electric vehicle service providers, automakers and labor signed a settlement agreement in support of SDG&E’s innovative Electric Vehicle Grid-Integration pilot project. The aim is to install EV charging infrastructure at up to 550 sites, with 10 chargers at each location, throughout the utility’s service territory and offer special rates to encourage charging at optimal times for the grid.
“We are very pleased to enter into this agreement with such a diverse group of stakeholders all working together to promote clean electric vehicles,” said Jim Avery, SDG&E’s senior vice president for power supply. “More than 50% of SDG&E’s residential customers live in multi-family communities, where only a small fraction currently has access to charging. To ensure charging is accessible to all customers, our pilot will address gaps like this in the market.”
The settlement agreement supporting the EV pilot was signed by a wide variety of stakeholders, including SDG&E, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Environmental Defense Fund, the Sierra Club, California Coalition of Utility Employees, the Greenlining Institute, ChargePoint Inc, NRG EV Services LLC, Smart Grid Services Siemens AG, Plug in America, General Motors, Honda Motors, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, KN Grid, CALSTART, the Center for Sustainable Energy and the Green Power Institute.
SDG&E plans to install at least 10% of the chargers in economically disadvantaged communities to expand access to clean EVs in these underserved areas. The pilot will feature special rates that encourage EV customers to lower their fueling costs by charging their cars when electricity supply, including renewable energy is plentiful and energy prices are low. With rates encouraging off-peak charging, vehicles would be efficiently integrated onto the grid.
In this positive and promising scenario for alternative and clean fuels, L-NGV2015 San Diego will take place next June 17-20 at the San Diego Convention Center in California. It is hosted by the San Diego MTS (Metropolitan Transit System), endorsed by NGVAmerica and the San Diego Regional Clean Cities Coalition as well as NGV Global and NGVA Europe, under Sempra Energy/SoCalGas Gold Sponsorship, and organized by NGV Communications Group. For more information, please visit the official website.
Source: San Diego Gas & Electric
