Ontario Home & Roam Low Carbon EV Charging Ecosystem

Lead Proponent

Ontario Charging Network LP (comprised of Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One)

Project Objectives

This project has two key objectives. The first objective is to provide a seamless charging experience for electric vehicle (EV) users by building, testing, and establishing a charging ecosystem that ties together public and at home EV charging. Implemented through a subscription model, demand-managed charging at home will be combined with access to an extensive network of public fast chargers at crucial locations (such as ONroute travel plazas along the 401 and 400 series highways). The second objective of the project is to leverage the charging ecosystem established in the first objective to test a platform to minimize local grid impacts and broader electricity system-level impacts of EV charging at scale.

Expected Results

This project is expected to benefit EV owners by enabling a simple, seamless charging experience at home and in public that requires no upfront cost for home charger installation, saves on electricity bills through demand management, and provides access to an extensive network of public charging options. Having an affordable turnkey charging solution will also help drive EV adoption, enabling the electrification of the transportation sector across the province.

The demand-side managed EV charging at individual homes is also expected to benefit electricity ratepayers and electric utilities as EV users will primarily charge during off-peak hours, overall applying downward pressure on electricity rates.