PowerSouth and Optiwatt enter partnership to ensure EVs don’t stress power grid during peak demand

Dec 04, 2023

In a not-so-distant future, in an Alabama town, a Mom picks up her kids from ball practice. They get snacks from the refrigerator and turn on their computers to do homework while watching TV and charging their phones at the charging station. Mom plugs in her new electric vehicle (EV) to charge, then turns on the electric skillet, the microwave, and the oven to prepare dinner while listening to satellite radio and drying a load of clothes in the electric clothes dryer. She then hooks up the robot vacuum to its charger after its deployment in the den.

It is 98 degrees in an Alabama summer, so the air conditioning is going full tilt, and the sprinklers are keeping the lawn watered. Dad comes in and plugs in his EV to charge before he puts his smartphone on the charger and turns on the Smart TV and his favorite playlist while he catches up on the day’s news.

This is repeated a thousand times in this idyllic future Alabama town. This all sounds wonderful, but electric grid planners see a problem here – and that is the number of kilowatts being pulled by thousands of EVs getting plugged in at the same time right during peak power demand.

Seeing where this could lead to problems for the grid, PowerSouth Electric Cooperative has announced a partnership with EV charging platform Optiwatt that allows electric vehicle owners in participating areas of Alabama and Florida to receive $25 compensation to register for the PowerSouth Managed Charging Pilot.

The partnership between Optiwatt and PowerSouth is a pilot program aimed at preparing U.S. electricity grids for increasing EV adoption, which will grow exponentially in the next few years and put local utility providers under stress due to heightened charging demand.

Managed charging automates EV charging to prevent excess electricity usage during those peak demand times. This, in turn, reduces the cost of electricity and lessens CO2 emissions and the risk of grid blackout for utility providers.

The Electric Vehicle Research Pilot will analyze EV charging trends to prepare the South’s electricity infrastructure for the expected load from electric vehicle charging.

Optiwatt is the largest telematics-based managed charging platform in North America.

Their partnership with PowerSouth Energy Cooperative will help plan for increased energy demand as more electric vehicles (EVs) hit the road in the Southeast as the Biden Administration is demanding that Americans adopt EVs.

Mike Majors is the Member Services Coordinator of PowerSouth

“Our service territory has seen growth in EV use, particularly in pockets of coastal Florida and Alabama,” said Majors. “For EVs to be sustainable long term, we must position the grid to support increased electrification and new charging habits. This is what the Optiwatt partnership seeks to address.”

Optiwatt and 14 of PowerSouth’s distribution member systems are inviting EV owners in its service area across southern Alabama and northwest Florida to participate in the Electric Vehicle Research Pilot. Users can receive a one-time $10 incentive for signing up and a $15 incentive at the program’s conclusion. Enrollment will end once the program reaches a maximum of 250 vehicles, and the program is currently halfway subscribed after its first week. Participation will not affect vehicle charging in any way.

The Biden Administration has ordered vehicle manufacturers to target net-zero emissions in passenger vehicles before 2050. Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering requiring that 67% of new passenger vehicles be electric by 2032 and has proposed targeting the coal, natural gas, and oil-powered power plants that produce most of America’s electricity. United States electric providers are scrambling to deal with these future realities. The increase in EV adoption will result in increased stress on the grid. This research pilot will help PowerSouth evaluate the potential impacts of EVs on the grid.

The program supports most electric vehicles today, although plug-in hybrids are excluded. Upon enrollment, vehicles will be assigned to a research group to measure the impact of EV charging on grid load optimization. The pilot program began on July 31, 2023, with the City of Elba, as well as CHELCO, Clarke Washington, Coosa Valley, Covington, Dixie, Escambia River, Gulf Coast, Pioneer, South Alabama, Southern Pine, Tallapoosa River, West Florida and Wiregrass Electric Cooperatives participating.

The program will end on January 31, 2024, with the objective of continuing as a permanent area of service.

To enroll, participants must download the free Optiwatt app on the App Store or Google Play or use a web browser and follow the program instructions.

Optiwatt is headquartered in San Francisco, California. It is the largest telematics-based home energy analytics platform in North America. The company’s partnerships with national utility providers and production consumer-facing applications reduce cost and energy usage for home and auto owners.

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