August 12
Xcel Plans for Vehicles to Run on Hydrogen, Electricity
Top consumer smart energy news hand-selected and brought to you by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative.
Member News
Xcel Energy proposed new and enhanced EV charging programs and high-speed public charging options in Minnesota and Wisconsin to make charging at home and on the go easy, fast and more affordable for all customers. The plan also includes new EV programs and solutions supporting businesses, multifamily buildings, community charging, transit and electric school buses.
One Monday morning this past May, heat-pump contractors, customers and supporters in and around New York City awoke to discover that one of their major rebate programs was about to disappear. For the previous eight months, customers had been upgrading to heat pumps in droves, enticed by utility Con Edison’s generous Clean Heat rebate program.
Small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) make up 75 percent of the business segment and represent around 17 percent of U.S. national electric usage, but they are often overlooked for utility programs since they are so hard to reach. Despite the widening availability of options, uptake on advanced rates for SMBs has been slow.
Last year was a “breakout year” for photovoltaics combined with storage projects, which accounted for 67 of the 74 hybrid projects added in the United States in 2021, according to a report released Wednesday by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. At 2.2 GW, there was more operating PV-hybrid energy storage capacity than standalone storage.
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Industry News
Again and again this summer, U.S. power grids have struggled to meet demand for electricity to run air conditioners amid heat waves. Utilities and grid operators have asked people to use less electricity in hopes of averting widespread outages in places like Indiana, New York and Texas.
California regulators last week approved first-of-their-kind protocols on submetering technology, which would essentially allow EV owners to measure their vehicles’ energy consumption separately from their main utility meter. Thanks to the decision, owners of EVs will be able to avoid installing an additional meter to measure the electricity that is consumed by their vehicle.
Atlantic City Electric will start the broad installation of new smart meters for its nearly 565,000 customers beginning in September and continuing through 2024. These upgrades are a key element of Atlantic City Electric’s Smart Energy Network, the company’s efforts to create smarter and more resilient energy infrastructure while providing new tools for an enhanced customer experience.
Connecticut residents who struggle to pay their energy bills often suffer from physical and mental health issues as a result. That is one of many findings in a new study of energy insecurity based on interviews with 22 residents of varying ages and races from around the state.
