Electric utilities set to test smart charging system with plug-in Priuses

We heard a few months ago that some fleets of plug-in Priuses were set to go into testing in early 2009, and it looks like some of those plans are now starting to get a bit clearer, with two southeastern electric utility companies recently announcing that they plan to use the PHEVs to evaluate a new smart charging system. Apparently, Duke Energy Carolinas and Progress Energy are particularly interested in testing how billing and energy usage will be tracked when a vehicle subscribed to one company charges on another network, and also how they'll be able to ensure that folks who feed energy back onto the grid get properly credited. To that end, all the Priuses in the test will be equipped with a V2Green connectivity module, which allows for two-way communication between the vehicles and the grid and promises to let utility companies minimize grid stress. No word on an exact start date for the fleet roll-out just yet, so anyone in the area had best keep an eye out -- you never know when they might just silently sneak up on you when you least expect it.

[Via AutoblogGreen]

[Hanoi Jane @ Nov 10th 2008 1:17PM]

Hey, why not the Volt?

Ohh i am sorry, i forgot that it is not coming until, 2012.

[letstakeawalk @ Nov 10th 2008 3:23PM]

Please refrain from spreading FUD when GM is in such a precarious position. The official release date of late 2010 is still the target...

[coffee @ Nov 10th 2008 5:33PM]

FUD doesn't matter when GM itself said it won't be around in 2010 without bailout.

[Boarderwoot @ Nov 10th 2008 1:33PM]

It's great to see the market expanding. Almost every time something like this is introduced southern Californians are the only ones to get them.

[Mark @ Nov 10th 2008 3:16PM]

This is why So Cal has one of the worse traffic in the world. It's a pain in the rear to drive on the freeways behind the idiots driving a Prius because they claim they can get it to go 100mph but can't get past the 55mph limit.

[Valicore @ Nov 10th 2008 4:10PM]

The reason SoCal has the worst traffic is not hybrids, it's the people who drive them. Traffic in LA is bad 24/7 because there are too many cars. Urban sprawl + a terrible public transportation system = LA Metro. I thought all of California was 65mph now? Anyway, Priuses for the win!

[Bob @ Nov 10th 2008 1:36PM]

As long as it doesn't look like that..

[Patrick @ Nov 10th 2008 2:13PM]

i second that motion
i would not be seen dead driving that

[happy_penguin @ Nov 10th 2008 2:50PM]

You could pull off the hideously ugly appliques and it would still be hideously ugly. It's a Prius. Can't fix the ugly.

[Matthew Hilario @ Nov 10th 2008 4:19PM]

This is so Summer of 1967.

[telepheedian @ Nov 10th 2008 6:04PM]

Reminds me of the Flower Power iMac...

[webon @ Nov 11th 2008 11:38AM]

really that car is damn GAY

[Gabe @ Nov 10th 2008 1:47PM]

I'd love to see a Prius owner that forgot to wrap the wire up, and is dragging down the street crusing at the blazing top speed of 50mph.

[Valicore @ Nov 10th 2008 10:42PM]

50mph is bunk, but even I as a Prius supporter know that you will get your wish to see the dangling cord at least once a week for the first 2-3 years after launch.

[LT73 @ Nov 10th 2008 2:03PM]

I'll be interested to see what happens when hackers exploit the comms link between the Prius and the Utility Companies...

"Wait a second, Bob, have a look at this. It appears that John Smith has back-fed 1MW this month via his Prius."

[dvsbstrd @ Nov 10th 2008 2:06PM]

It looks like an elf shoe with a solid color paint job.

Now it looks like an elf's prom shoe.

[absinthe party @ Nov 10th 2008 2:12PM]

I want this paintjob on my Rogue.

[The Finite @ Nov 10th 2008 2:12PM]

Is there a rule about hybrids and plug-ins being ugly? Can we change the rule so they don't have to be ugly? It's a bad rule.

[Jack @ Nov 10th 2008 2:42PM]

it's pronounced priii

[Jim @ Nov 10th 2008 2:48PM]

Not a bad color on the car but the plug in crapping out the wife life is a bit disgusting. I do not need to know that the energy comes coal or oil which is basically planet/animal life that die, decomposed and stored under heat and pressure for a million years or so.

I look forward to the day when I can stop worrying about stopping to put gas in the vehicle except on long trips. I hope the home retro-fit power adapter does not cost to much.

[Skip @ Nov 10th 2008 3:37PM]

Forget the paint job. The only color that matters here is green! As in $$$. The technology to plug in, charge / discharge / dispatch is easy and already done. We have cars that roll up their windows before you know you're gonna crash. I accidentally pushed the Onstar button in a rental car once. You would have thought I activated some kind of Life Alert or something. Trust me, the car hardware is EZ!

The part that is more difficult is the billing side of the whole thing. Really, it is! Don't expect to see deployments beyond "demonstration" projects until Smart Metering and Real-Time Electricity Billing is widely implemented. You will be able to "charge" off the grid soon (legally) in most places. It's the "charging up the grid" part that is sticky.

What many don't understand is that, just because you have the "plug-in" station at home and at your employer, doesn't mean the utility companies and accounts are the same in both places and it doesn't mean they are on the same rate-class. Solving all this sounds simple (and should be) if you haven't spent years dealing with utility matters. Wish it was!

I believe that the vehicle itself should be given a Unique Account # to manage the billing and clearing between utility accounts at various locations. This account info can easily be embedded in the plug, with the corresponding reader/comm in the receptacle. It would work like a debit/credit account. Put some in, take some out. Associated energy charges and transaction fees listed on your receipt... And there will be fees! Just like at an ATM. If you are outside your "home service territory", you will pay a fee for the transaction! Be careful where you put your plug! This is a HUGE issue that won't likely be resolved without a lot of bloodshed on Capital Hill and Wall Street. The owner of the vehicle would have a bank-account linked to the vehicle account for monthly or periodic settlement.

Keep pluggin!

[Valicore @ Nov 10th 2008 10:44PM]

I think this is fairly likely. I would bet there will even be something like a SIM card to move between different cars if necessary.

[Valicore @ Nov 10th 2008 4:12PM]

That hippy shit is terrible. I wish they'd at least attempt to make it more pleasing to the general. Put some flames or something on it, it would still look ridiculous but at least it would show effort.

[Jack @ Nov 10th 2008 4:36PM]

When you all are old enough to drive, you will realize that the Prius isn't ugly at all.

[coffee @ Nov 10th 2008 5:35PM]

I'm no spring chicken, and it looks like a pig's ass to me.

[Valicore @ Nov 10th 2008 10:48PM]

Actually I find that most of the people who hate that way it looks are at least in their early to mid twenties if not older. Young people don't seem to have a problem with it, in fact they're popular here. ::sighs:: I do have to admit that I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and in a lot of ways this area might as well be opposite land, so I can't really relate to anyone not from around here.

[Jeff @ Nov 10th 2008 4:46PM]

Yes, it's ugly, but if available we will start driving it. I am tired of being a stylish, idiot paying my families money toward a oil system that has unlimited funds & controls thru investment most other major industries.

They hold America & the rest of the world back.

[granny down east @ Nov 10th 2008 5:18PM]

This system is coming to North Carolina? That might be another + to make me try an plug-in vehicle.
My love affair with hybrids was short-lived. Service after the sale was not satisfactory.
I'm looking at you, Honda.

[Rocketboy @ Nov 11th 2008 9:39AM]

Wow, energy companies promoting plug in electric cars? Shocking.

[Brandon @ Nov 11th 2008 8:41PM]

So I saw this on Highway 101 in San Jose, CA the other day. The truck was headed for the 280 interchange.

http://www.root-survers.net/prius/EVPrius.jpg