Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) is the first utility in the country using EV batteries to help power homes. The utility is paying Ford F-150 Lightning owners to run their homes using their truck batteries during peak periods to help balance grid supply and demand.

Other electric utilities around the country are talking about creating similar programs for customers, but BGE is the first to pay customers for powering their homes using their EV batteries. Specifically, the customers plug in their trucks between 5-9pm on summer weeknights, which are the periods of peak demand. Then the trucks recharge overnight when it is easier for the utility to provide the electricity.

When the power is used by the home, it is known as vehicle-to-home (V2H), and if the power flows back to the grid, it is known as vehicle-to-grid (V2G). The practice can turn EVs from a grid challenge to a grid asset. The 2-way EV charger is produced by Sunrun, a manufacturer of EV chargers, solar, and batteries. BGE, Ford, and Sunrun found three customers in BGE territory that owned both the Ford F-150 truck as well as the Sunrun 2-way charger, and the utility signed up all three homes to the program.

More information is available here.

Image: Dylan Slagle/BGE

David Shiller

David Shiller is the Publisher of LightNOW, and President of Lighting Solution Development, a North American consulting firm providing business development services to advanced lighting manufacturers. The ALA awarded David the Pillar of the Industry Award. David has co-chaired ALA’s Engineering Committee since 2010. David established MaxLite’s OEM component sales into a multi-million dollar division. He invented GU24 lamps while leading ENERGY STAR lighting programs for the US EPA. David has been published in leading lighting publications, including LD+A, enLIGHTenment Magazine, LEDs Magazine, and more.

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