FLO, a major electric vehicle (EV) charging network in Canada, is partnering with Green Mountain Power (GMP), Vermont’s largest electric utility, to participate in a pilot project aiming to deploy residential EV charging infrastructure while finding ways to lower the cost of power for all customers.
Through this project, FLO will provide GMP with 50 units of its FLO Home EV charging station that will be distributed to Vermont homeowners to test automated demand response systems.
Over the last few months, FLO has worked closely with GMP to make its system compliant with the Open Automated Demand Response (OpenADR) standards. This will allow GMP to share access with the chargers remotely and reduce peak energy costs during periods of high demand to drive down costs for all customers.
“This project demonstrates our ability to help utilities prepare to accommodate the growing demand for electric vehicle charging. As EV adoption keeps progressing, load management will certainly be a challenge for utilities, and this type of smart grid integration is a key part of the solution,” says Louis Tremblay, president and CEO of FLO. “We are looking forward to working with other utilities across North America to deploy similar initiatives, as these will be essential to support the development of large-scale electric vehicle charging infrastructure.”
GMP says it supports EVs in Vermont and has helped create a statewide public charging network.
The collaboration with GMP is one of many projects FLO is currently running with American partners, as the company is making its first steps into the U.S. market. FLO is a subsidiary of AddEnergie, a North American provider of EV charging solutions.