New York City operators of commercial electric vehicle charging equipment can now enroll in a new managed charging program Consolidated Edison is offering to reduce grid stress at times of peak demand in exchange for financial incentives.
The SmartCharge Commercial program will be open to certain public, workplace, multifamily, retail and fleet sites, and offers financial rewards for charging overnight and avoiding charging when local power demand is high. The program will build on the success of Con Edison’s SmartCharge New York retail managed charging rewards program, the utility said in a Feb. 14 announcement.
The new managed charging program aims to speed the buildout of commercial charging stations, “which will increase the number of electric vehicles on our roads” and “encourage station operators to lower their charging load when local power demand on the grid is high,” Con Edison Director of E-Mobility & Demonstrations Britt Reichborn-Kjennerud said in a statement.
The program will offer incentives for station operators to reduce their electricity usage during peak demand periods at the local network level. The utility has provided site operators with resources to determine the network peak for their site. Higher incentives will be available for publicly accessible stations and transit agencies, Con Edison said.
Con Edison said it plans to pay up to $194 million over the next three years to site hosts “to foster this grid-beneficial charging as the state and region transition to cleaner transportation.”
According to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the state will need 2 to 3 million EVs on its roads by 2030, and 10 million by 2050, in order to meet its climate goals. And Con Edison said it supports policies that require all new vehicle sales to be electric by 2030.
Revel, which offers a rideshare fleet and publicly-accessible fast charging infrastructure, will be the first participant in Con Edison’s new charging program.
“This incentive program will significantly lower operating costs at Revel's public fast charging stations, allowing us to reinvest more in the communities that will benefit most from emission-eliminating EVs,” said Tobias Lescht, the company’s head of infrastructure.
