Central Hudson Gas & Electric and Orange & Rockland, New York-based utility providers, have announced the piloting of an electric vehicle (EV) program for their customers residing in the Hudson Valley.
The program which will be operated with Enel X and Uplight, offers a $450 customer rebate in an effort to encourage drivers to charge their vehicles during the cleanest power generation hours. This initiative aims to decrease greenhouse gas emissions.
Uplight aims to use its marketplace solution to ensure instant rebate validation upon purchasing an EV charger. This project is in line with New York State’s clean energy and climate goals to reduce emissions by 85% by 2050.
Once customers receive the rebate, they will automatically be enrolled into the charge smart energy program. The participants of this program will also be permitted access to Enel X’s JuiceNet smart charging dashboard and mobile app via which they will be able to control and monitor their charging routines for their EVs.
JuiceNet Green uses real-time forecasts on greenhouse gas emissions from WattTime. They claim that their utility edition platform would essentially enable users to monitor and analyze demand and in turn, align themselves with real-time grid conditions.
Josh Lin, general manager of Uplight, said, “As more utilities and states pledge to go carbon neutral, it is essential to start bringing their customers on that journey as well by connecting them to critical resources like EVs.”
“Driving an EV, is already a powerful step a customer takes to reduce their environmental impact, but this program gives customers the right tools to help them more seamlessly manage their energy usage,” he added.
Head of e-mobility at Enel X North America, Giovanni Bertolino, stated, “With more renewables coming online each year, it’s critical we manage new EV load demands efficiently while fully supporting a 100 per cent electrified future. As New York continues to make strides to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent over the next decade, our hope is that smart charging will increase EV driver access to renewable energy on the grid as well as help New York meet its clean energy goals, conveniently and cost effectively.”