Electric cars use a lot of power, and as adoption of electric cars increases, so too may pressure on the electricity grid. If everyone comes home and starts charging their car at the same time, we may need to increase generation capacity, or upgrade electricity infrastructure to cope with the increase in demand – which could be costly. But what if we could better manage electric car charging times to ensure we make the most of the resources we already have?
Smart charging refers to the ability for a third party (like us) to manage electric car charging times on your behalf.
This allows us to charge your car during the times of day that avoid adding to peak demand. We may also be able to utilise EV charging to help stabilise the grid - for example, when a generator trips or to soak up excess solar generation to help balance supply/demand.
You can always opt out of managed charging events. It’s important to remember, cars are usually plugged in for longer than they actually need to charge, so there is flexibility in when charging times can occur.
Your charging emissions will be Carbon Neutral at no extra cost, as certified by Climate Active.
See your charging schedule, preferences, and receive notifications about managed charging events, all in a handy app.
Get up to $200 in bill credits each year (GST incl.), for participating in managed charging events, surveys, and questionaires throughout the trial.
Use your car as normal and we’ll do the rest.
There are three streams in the trial, which test different smart charging technology. We can help you choose the right stream.
Up to 200 customers will get a free smart charger worth $2,500, including standard installation.
Own a Tesla? You don’t need any extra equipment - we’ll schedule charging through the car itself, thanks to its API. Limited to 50 customers.
Up to 50 eligible Nissan Leaf owners will get a discounted vehicle to grid station.
You can choose to sign up to our competitive home energy plan, to help reduce your charging costs.
Here’s what you need to know if you join the smart charger or vehicle to grid streams.
Why you need a new charger
Unfortunately, you can’t use your existing charger. To communicate with your charger and run smart charging events, we’ll need to give you a specific type of charger.
Standard vs. non-standard installation
We’ll the cover costs of a standard installation. However, if your property requires a ‘non-standard’ installation, you’ll need to pay for the additional costs in order to participate in the trial. We’ll send you an invoice for the additional costs, which is subject to normal payment terms.
At the end of the trial
You’ll get to keep your charger once the trial ends.
An ‘event’ is when we send a signal to your vehicle or charger to pause charging for a specific period of time and start charging again at a later time.
We do this using software that integrates with either your car or EVlink Smart Wallbox charger, to shift the times at which your car charges (generally outside of evening peak periods) to other times of the day which help support the grid.
Earning bill credits
The quarterly bill credit is applied on a pro-rata basis according to the number of days in your billing period. For example, as you can receive up to $200 a year in bill credits, this is a daily credit of $0.55, which is multiplied by the number of days in your billing period.
Keep you moving
You can also opt out of or override a smart charging event, in case you need to charge your vehicle immediately.
Remember, EV’s typically only need a fraction of the time to charge than what they are plugged in for. In most cases we are simply shifting the times when charging occurs to a lower demand period.
If you received a free smart charger or discounted charging station, and choose to leave the trial early, you’ll need to pay out the pro-rata cost of the charger.
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