Alectra Drive at Home

Lead Proponent

Alectra Inc.

Project Background

The objective of this project was to develop and implement an electric vehicle (EV) charging deployment model for residential customers. This model allowed the utility to understand the economic, technical, regulatory and customer outreach considerations for deploying EV charging solutions at scale. Through this project, Alectra encouraged access to EV charging in single-family and multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs) as well as encouraged off-peak charging behaviour to benefit the EV drivers as well as the electricity system.

The project design featured two incentive models and a control group, each of which was comprised of a mix of EV owners living in single-family and multi-unit buildings:

• Group 1: Smart Charging
  Time-based dynamic pricing and load control
• Group 2: Charge Rewards
  Non-price incentive (e.g. loyalty program/point system)
• Group 3: Control Group
  No incentives

The program offered select participants convenient and affordable access to EV chargers, along with incentives for shifting charging patterns. By encouraging charging during off-peak hours, the initiative aimed to benefit both the grid and participants' energy costs. Additionally, participants were given the opportunity to provide direct feedback to their electrical utility, highlighting how these changes in charging behavior could lead to broader benefits for everyone.

Results

Customer feedback indicated strong satisfaction with this project, with 82% of participants expressing being content with the program and finding value for their money.
Moreover, 80% of charging was shifted to off-peak times when compared to baseline data. These stats indicated the project’s efficacy in providing grid management solutions as well as understanding customer needs.
Additional key findings indicated high price elasticity of electric vehicle (EV) charging behaviours, there are unique challenges that exist in multi-residential EV charger installations, and that demand response (DR) events are an effective method to reduce EV charging demand during peak hours.

Benefits to Canada

Overall, the AlectraDrive @Home project laid the groundwork for customer-facing EV support programs, while showcasing that managed charging of EVs works and is a viable method for electrical utilities to reduce demand across their service territories.

Next Steps

This project is complete. Future initiatives stemming from the findings of this project could include highlighting opportunities for regulatory changes, enhancing community engagement, and streamlining enrollment processes for future programs.