Free nighttime EV charging in TX -- for GMs

[ChasingCoral]

https://www.axios.com/shell-gm-texa..._campaign=newsletter_axiosgenerate&stream=top
Shell and GM unveil partnership on Texas power and car-charging
View attachment 30547
Andrew Freedman

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

General Motors and a Shell-owned power company will unveil a partnership on Wednesday aimed at providing renewable electricity to Texas customers and free overnight charging to state residents who own GM electric cars.

Why it matters: It’s a new way for two corporate giants to expand their operations in a way that lowers emissions at the customer and supplier level.

The big picture: In the process, the two companies — one a giant fossil fuel producer, the other a manufacturer of oil-hungry products — can make progress toward their corporate emissions goals.

• GM, for example, has set a target of being carbon neutral in its global products and operations by 2040, while Shell is aiming for a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050.
• GM's goal requires the company to make significant cuts in the emissions from the vehicles it sells (known as Scope 3 emissions).
• Shell’s target includes not only the energy consumed through its own operations, but the emissions from the fuels it sells to its customers.

Driving the news: The renewable energy plans are rolling out this month. They will offer customers fixed electricity rates sourced from wind, solar and other renewable sources, through Shell Energy North America's subsidiary MP2 Energy, LLC.

• The EV charging options will be added in late July, according to a GM spokesperson.

How it works: For an eligible consumer to access the renewable energy plans, they’d be directed to a specific website to choose a plan that best suits them, said Shell spokesman James Appleby.

• "Once launched, the EV plans are structured to provide free overnight renewable-energy charging to assist with managing the cost of charging their vehicle," Appleby said.
• Such a charging window allows customers to draw energy from the grid at non-peak hours, when electricity costs tend to be lower.
• In addition to GM’s customers, the energy program will also be extended to GM's suppliers so they can reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

What they're saying: Rob Threlkeld, GM’s global manager of sustainable energy, said the new program is an outgrowth of the company’s focus on deploying renewables across its manufacturing facilities.

• He sees the overnight charging component as a way to put customers in charge of controlling their electricity costs as EVs become more common.
• “And so that's kind of down the path, as we think about an all-electric future, is starting to get our customers engaged in understanding electricity, more or less, and then ultimately how they can potentially support them as they look for low-cost solutions,” he said.

What’s next: Both companies aim to expand the renewables effort beyond Texas and into other U.S. markets in the future.

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[sotek2345]

Interesting program. I think the logistics of this will be the real problem (how to reimburse across different electrical networks and suppliers). Also - how to you prevent abuse (i.e. someone charging their vehicle at night while using the vehicle to run crypto farm and get free energy)?

 

[beatle]

The "How it Works" section doesn't really say how it works. What technical checks are put in place so that it is restricted to GM vehicles? If the wall box uses a standard J1772 connector, what's to say you can't charge a non-EV with the program?

As for what you do with the car when it's not plugged in, that's up to the owner as it should be.

 

[astricklin]

Interesting program. I think the logistics of this will be the real problem (how to reimburse across different electrical networks and suppliers). Also - how to you prevent abuse (i.e. someone charging their vehicle at night while using the vehicle to run crypto farm and get free energy)?

There's already plenty of 'free nights' retail electric plans available in Texas. This presumably is just going to make it standard across all retail electric providers. I'm curious however if it will apply to my electricity coop as they don't follow the standard retail electric provider structure.

 

[Lime Green]

The vehicle identification and billing for this is easy and done. GM, Ford Tesla, VW, etc.. have all adopted the Plug-N-Charge protocol and system that facilitates this. So charge networks that are using the same PNC system, which will basically be all of them, will handle it mostly transparently. You drive up in your Cadillac Lyriq and plug in, the charge station instantly knows you’re drying a GM/Cadillac, Model is a Lyriq, VIN, current charge status/ ability and primary billing info — you can have all your charging bill back to your GM, Tesla, Ford etc.. account and payment method if you don’t want to set up multiple billing apps and such — and if the charge station you’re using supports it. You roll up in your GM EV and plug in, the charge station offering free charging to GM vehicles will know what you’re driving and bill you $0 for the charge.

As for charging while farming crypto, that’s not really a thing…. Forget about it on a level-2 charger. Charging would be slower than meaningful consumption for mining. Level-3, maybe, but once again there are limits. Many of them have time limits, idle fees, would probably question excessive consumption while charging — also harder on the battery and not an efficient way to charge. We don’t even know how much power output will be accessible while the truck is charging. Regardless though, these charge points offering free charging to GM vehicles will help sell those electric Cadillacs and Hummers. Just as Tesla’s free unlimited charging perk they’ve offered at times became a consideration for many who were on the fence about buying.

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