US. Ford and Southern California Edison test smart charging

The California Power Response is part of SCE’s Emergency Load Reduction Program (ELRP) and offers participants “$1 per kWh of energy reduced during peak grid events.” The goal is to incentivise EV users to charge during off-peak hours to make the electricity grid more stable.

The way it works is that the programme contacts the automaker ahead of peak events. Ford will then notify its drivers and update the EV’s charging settings at the location it is registered for the Power Response programme. If a driver needs to charge immediately during a peak period of energy demand, he or she can do so using the FordPass App.

In the long run, the idea is for participants to send energy from their car’s battery to the grid when the energy demand is high.

“The future of the two-way grid is now,” says Steve Powell, president and CEO of SCE. “The electric industry has been preparing infrastructure and systems to take advantage of vehicle-to-grid integration, and a lot of hard work on all sides is now making that a reality.”

“Becoming the first US automaker to participate in the ELRP program through Ford’s California Power Response program is another example of Ford maximising every benefit possible for our electric vehicle customers,” says Bill Crider, senior director, global charging and energy services, Ford Motor Company. “Electric vehicles can deliver cost savings through incentives provided by leading utilities such as Southern California Edison, and current vehicle-to-home and near-future vehicle-to-grid services open even more benefits to customers, the electric grid and communities at large.”