CHARLOTTE — Duke Energy today announced a partnership with General Motors, Ford, and BMW to bring a new electric vehicle (EV) pilot program to North Carolina.
The 12-month EV Complete Home Charging Plan will allow residential customers to charge an EV at home for a fixed monthly fee. Customers will be able to use up to 800 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month with rates set at $19.99 per month for Duke Energy Carolina users and $24.99 per month in the Duke Energy Progress service areas.
The program aims to bring more certainty to the cost of EV charging in order to help incentivize the purchase and use of elective vehicles.
“North Carolina has ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and we’re supporting those efforts,” Duke Energy North Carolina state president Kendal Bowman said in the press release. “Increasing the numbers of EVs while reducing the number of gas-powered vehicles on the road will help our state move closer to carbon neutrality.”
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Electric Grid Demands
Part of the benefit of the program will be allowing Duke Energy to work on the development of the electrical grid for use with EVs. The partnership with GM, Ford, and BMW represents their participation in the Open Vehicle Grid Integration Platform (OVGIP) which allows the management and measurement of charging directly from enrolled vehicles.
Participants in the pilot program will be able to set their preferred timeline for when their vehicles will need to be at a specific charge level. The vehicles themselves can then facilitate the charging amount and time to avoid peak hours of load on the grid. The OVGIP data will also allow Duke Energy to collect useful data about preferences and actual charging times.
Harry Sideris, executive vice president of customer experience at Duke Energy, talked about the benefits for the grid and its users in the press release.
“Duke Energy has been strategically planning and enabling the grid for a future with many more EVs on the road – and is also making data-driven investments to improve reliability, strengthen the grid, expand technologies, and provide customers with the intelligent information they need to make smart energy choices and save money.”
Enrollment Details
Enrollment in the pilot program will open this Friday, September 1st and the program will launch for NC customers on November 1st. Additional details will be provided ahead of the launch date.
More information on the program and the application to enroll can be found on the company website.
