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San Diego Community Power outlines EV managed‑charging pilot and plans for bidirectional vehicle demonstrations
Summary
At its May 8 Citizens Advisory Committee meeting, San Diego Community Power staff described a residential managed‑charging pilot, coordination with SDG&E, and next steps toward limited vehicle‑to‑grid (V2G) demonstrations while warning of technical and regulatory limits.
San Diego Community Power staff told the Citizens Advisory Committee on May 8 that the agency is testing managed electric‑vehicle charging and planning limited bidirectional demonstrations while coordinating with San Diego Gas & Electric.
The update focused on two tracks: a residential managed‑charging pilot called EV Flex Connect and exploratory work toward vehicle‑to‑everything (V2X) demonstrations, including vehicle‑to‑grid export and non‑export modes. Staff said the projects aim to reduce system costs, help meet resource adequacy needs and gather driving‑behavior data, particularly in communities of concern.
Rachel Zuk, San Diego Community Power’s Vehicle Grid Integration program manager, opened the presentation by stressing the scale of the opportunity: “They are massive batteries on wheels,” she said, referring to the county’s roughly 200,000 electric vehicles. Zuk said the agency has launched a residential managed‑charging pilot for about 1,000 customers over two years called EV Flex Connect, with a $50 enrollment incentive and a $5 monthly participation payment. The pilot launched Feb. 10 and, as of the May 8 meeting, had enrolled just over 100 participants; staff said they plan a controlled rollout that would reach 800 participants by the end of the calendar year and 1,000 by the end of 2026.
The pilot is designed to test unidirectional managed charging (often called V1G) to shift charging into lower‑cost hours and to measure any benefit under the region’s current slice‑of‑day resource adequacy framework. Zuk said San Diego Community Power applied for a California Energy Commission grant and has a letter of commitment from SDG&E to provide data if the grant is awarded. She told the committee the CCA is also interviewing member agencies about fleet electrification needs and expects to complete a procurement for a fleet‑analysis vendor before the end of the calendar year.
Zuk described three distinct bidirectional configurations the agency is watching: vehicle‑to‑home (backup), vehicle‑to‑home (optimization or non‑export), and vehicle‑to‑grid (export). She emphasized that each configuration has different hardware, software, interconnection and regulatory requirements. On standards and interconnection, she noted the role of inverter safety certification and utility interconnection processes: “There was a specific UL inverter safety standard,” she said, and added that Rule 21 interconnection studies are often required for export-capable installations.
The presentation highlighted three practical barriers to rapid V2X deployment in California: limited certified hardware (Zuk said DC‑capable hardware only became certified in late 2024), missing or slow AC interconnection standards, and interoperability problems between vehicles and chargers from different manufacturers. She cautioned that some consumer messaging overstates capabilities: while school‑bus V2G projects are real and powerful, many consumer claims focus on backup capability or future promises rather than export to the grid today. She noted automakers and charging‑system suppliers sometimes offer integrated, proprietary solutions that do not interoperate across brands.
Committee members asked about battery warranty and life; Zuk said sanctioned use by automakers is typically covered by warranty language that specifies allowable cycling, citing earlier bidirectional capability in models such as older Nissan Leaf vehicles. She also told the committee that the CCA will rely on SDG&E to define control expectations if a customer or project must ensure no export beyond the meter for optimization/non‑export use cases.
No formal action was requested or taken; the presentation was received by the committee for the record.
Next steps described by staff include continuing the residential pilot, coordinating data sharing with SDG&E, pursuing grant funding, conducting interviews and vendor procurement for fleet managed‑charging services, and pursuing a limited residential demonstration focused on export and non‑export V2G configurations within roughly the next year.
