INSIGHTS
Effective Scaling of EV Load Management Programs
With over 4,000 participants, the Xcel Colorado Optimize Your Charge (OYC) program represents one of the largest residential off-peak, passive EV load management programs in the country. OYC participants commit to charging during their choice of three different off-peak charging windows at least 25% of the time. In 2023, Opinion Dynamics conducted research with OYC program participants. We are also analyzing EV charging data for OYC participants and providing updated charging load curves on an ongoing basis.
KEY INSIGHTS
- 90% of OYC participants report mostly charging during their selected off-peak charging window, however less than half of participants reported that the OYC program directly influenced their charging behaviors.
- Opinion Dynamics recommended that Xcel Energy should strategically examine the role of the OYC offering alongside those of their EV load management offerings, such as their dynamic optimization program “Charging Perks” and EV TOU rates, in encouraging EV charging behavior that is responsive to grid needs.
- Xcel Energy acknowledged that active managed charging, like Xcel’s Energy’s Charging Perks dynamic optimization program, provides greater value to the grid than static managed charging, like OYC, thanks to the increased flexibility to adapt load to energy and potentially localized grid conditions.
- In Xcel Colorado’s 2024-2026 TEP filed in May 2023, Xcel Energy outlined its long-term plan for managed charging, which includes a shift in focus to the expansion of the dynamic Charging Perks Program.
WHY IT MATTERS
Currently, most utilities are just beginning the process of scaling managed charging offerings beyond a few hundred participants. Further, there are very few examples of utilities that offer the variety of EV load management offerings that Xcel Energy does. As such, research results from Xcel Energy’s first set of managed charging offerings and insights from their planning process for their future set of programs provide valuable insights for other utilities that will soon be grappling with the same types of decisions that Xcel Energy has been making.
Average Demand Per Hour for OYC Participants
This figure shows the average daily charging patterns of customers who are enrolled in the OYC program. This graphic shows a sharp increase in average charging after the window that OYC customers are incentivized to avoid charging in ends at 9:00 P.M.
DIVE DEEPER
Learn more about the Xcel Colorado Optimize Your Charge program findings and explore the data insights in the full report.
Interested in what we can do for you?
Please feel free to contact our resident expert!
Hilary Polis
Director of Transportation Electrification
hpolis@opiniondynamics.com
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