BMW Drivers Can Get Paid To Delay Charging i3 Electric Cars

In a move that has the potential to alter the growth of electric cars, BMW and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) have developed a program in which some drivers of the BMW i3 electric hatchback may qualify to get paid to delay recharging their cars.

Drivers who participate in the German automaker’s new ChargeForward program will receive up to $1,540 in return for letting BMW delay the recharging process whenever California’s electricity grid faces a heavy strain. These delays are expected to last no longer than one hour.

The experimental program was developed by BMW and PG&E to test a method that could help to ensure electric vehicles (EVs) don’t burden the grid as their popularity slowly grows over time. If it works well, there’s the possibility it could lead to a future where it is commonplace for EV drivers to get paid for helping to maintain the stability of the grid. In turn, that money could potentially offset the price of electric cars, which still cost considerably more than their gasoline counterparts.

“If they will provide us grid service, we can provide them some incentives that will help lower the cost of these vehicles,” said James Ellis, PG&E’s director of electric vehicle programs.

Many automakers, including BMW, are developing a standardized communication platform that will let utilities communicate with their customers’ EVs, allowing utilities to balance charging among thousands of customers. There are also some researchers who are studying ways to use EVs as big batteries that could feed power to the grid when necessary. However, that won’t be part of the BMW program. Instead, BMW and PG&E want to see if they are able to persuade drivers to give up some control over their recharging times, to prevent electric cars from straining the grid when power supplies are low. Research shows that the impact of EVs on city power grids is increasing over time, and it’s therefore not surprising companies are looking into ways to counter this problem.

BMW is accepting online applications from Bay Area i3 drivers who are interested in participating in the program. One hundred drivers will be enrolled, and they will each receive a $1,000 payment upfront. Whenever the power supplies on the electricity grid run low, PG&E will send a notice to those drivers through a BMW smartphone app. The notice will warn them that their plugged-in cars will temporarily stop charging. However, drivers who absolutely require a full charge can use the app to opt out, thereby ensuring that the charging continues. At the end of the program, in late 2016, participants will receive a second payment of up to $540, based on the number of times that they allowed the system to delay the charging of their vehicle.

“The utilities buy and manage power to meet peak loads,” said Julia Sohnen, an advanced technology engineer in sustainable mobility for BMW. “It’s our hope to show that we can shift the flexible load of electric vehicle charging to help the utility more efficiently use the existing resource. If we can manage the hours that we charge our electric vehicles, maybe they can install fewer plants to meet those peak loads.”

Most likely, some of the participating drivers won’t agree to delay charging every time the system sends an alert, so BMW will tap a bank of used electric car batteries to make up the difference, sending PG&E enough electricity to make up for the drivers who opted out.

“That’s our way we’re ensuring that we always meet our commitment to PG&E while never sacrificing mobility for our customers,” said Sohnen.