Dive Brief:

• Smart meter leader Itron and ClipperCreek, which develops electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, will work together to power a vehicle charging demand response program provided by Pepco.
• The voluntary program is designed to encourage Pepco customers in its Maryland service territory who own electric vehicles to take advantage of off-peak charging for refueling vehicles, according to Greentech Media. The utility intends to use the smart charging pilpt to test demand response events and calculate the load impact of each event.
• The pilot program will assess an electric vehicle smart charging station's ability to support consumer engagement, demand response, time-of-use rates and embedded revenue-grade metering.

Dive Insight:

Greentech Media reports on a major hurdle utilities face in leveraging electric vehicle charging stations as a distributed resource—receiving and utilizing “revenue-grade" data that will allow them to monitor and put the variable charging demand to work. For the most part, the need for high-quality data means utilities need to own the metering equipment, ultimately meaning a more expensive installation. But Pepco has teamed with Itron and Clipper Creek on a pilot plan allowing the utility to assess charging stations' potential.

The technology will combine ClipperCreek’s charging station with Itron Embedded Sensing technology, and provides the foundation for Pepco’s Demand Management Pilot Program for plug-in vehicle charging.

“Itron and ClipperCreek’s smart charging system is an innovating technology that satisfies our requirements for our Plug-In Vehicle Charging Pilot Program,” said Barbara Gonzalez, Pepco's manager of special projects who is leading the program. The plan “will empower our customers to reduce peak usage and save money when charging their electric vehicles, while also decreasing the demand on our electric distribution system while increasing our system reliability.”

Itron equips each ClipperCreek 240V charging station with revenue-grade metrology and command and control communication over a variety of mediums. The solution allows for flexible and automatic control of charging, receiving inputs such as charging schedules and control signals for demand response. In addition, the solution allows Pepco to remotely measure the energy delivered to the vehicle as interval metering data.