Optiwatt, a San Francisco-based home energy analytics platform, recently announced a partnership with Florida public power utility JEA and the Electric Power Research Institute to help the utility plan for expected increases in energy demand with an increase in electric vehicle use in the Southeast.
Optiwatt, JEA and EPRI are inviting EV owners in the JEA service area to participate in an Electric Vehicle Research Pilot, a program that will monitor EV charging and its effect on overall electric demand.
EV owners who participate are entitled to receive a $7 monthly incentive for the 12-month duration of the program.
“More and more Florida drivers are going electric, and JEA is working strategically to ensure we are prepared for the increased demand on our power system,” JEA Managing Director & CEO Jay Stowe said. “We are grateful for the partnership with Optiwatt and EPRI to better understand the growing needs of EV drivers in Northeast Florida.”
The research pilot will help EPRI and JEA understand EV charging habits and evaluate potential impacts from EVs on the grid in Northeast Florida.
The pilot program supports most battery-only EVs on the road today; 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. Program organizers began recruitment of EV drivers in September and will continue until 400 participants are enrolled.
Prospective enrollees may not be participants in JEA’s Bring Your Own Charger Program to be eligible.
To enroll, participants must download to their EV the free Optiwatt app on the App Store or Google Play, or on Optiwatt.com.
