Michigan-based utility DTE Energy Co. says a recent collaboration and demonstration project have shown that Itron's OpenWay smart grid technology and Comverge's Apollo demand management software platform have effectively handled operations related to plug-in electric vehicles.
During a technical demonstration in Detroit, the OpenWay system processed load control events issued from Apollo to a PEV and disabled charging for the duration included in the message. OpenWay was also able to process pricing messages from Apollo. When pricing exceeded a designated threshold, the PEV ceased charging until the final price fell below that threshold.
‘Working jointly with Itron and Comverge, we now have a more realistic picture of how PEVs may affect our grid,’ says Bill Cloutier, AMI manager for DTE Energy. ‘The goal is to test this new technology and share the information with our customers, providing them the opportunity to make more informed decisions about how and when they charge their PEVs and, ultimately, how they can use the information to lower their electric bills.’
SOURCE: Itron
