| | MAY - 20198E ERGYTech ReviewBy Karl Popham, Interim CIO, Manager of Emerging Technologies & Electric Vehicles, Austin EnergyPlug-In Electric Vehicle (PEV) adoption has been growing at a rapid pace in the U.S. from a few thousand in 2011 to over 400,000 PEVs on U.S. roads today and 1 million globally. In Austin we have seen a steady 200-300 percent annual growth curve year over year during this timeframe.PEVs are a tremendous revenue and growth opportunity for utilities. Here in Austin if every driver chose a PEV, that would basically double the load and potential revenue from our residential sector. Unlike our top residential load today, air conditioning, there is a lot more flexibility from PEVs for off-peak and smart charging innovations.In addition to the obvious revenue stream for utilities, it is important to capture other community benefits to include zero tail-pipe emissions for cleaner air, quieter cars for reduced noise pollution, fewer overall CO2 emissions especially when paired with renewable energy, and fuel independence from petroleum imports.Over the last five years of our program, here are some of the actions we have taken and that other utilities can act on today to increase PEV value and adoption:1. Identify and Engage Policy Innovators ­ A key resource for implementing our PEV programs has been working closely with policy innovators. The Austin City Council has passed several ordinances over the years in support of maximizing the community benefit and demonstrating leadership for transportation electrification. These have included everything from tariffs for flat fee public charging, protecting EV charging stations from gas vehicles, setting city fleet goals, and a community vision to a zero emissions future.2. Launch an Effective Marketing Outreach Campaign ­ Some of the early PEV commercials from leading auto manufacturers was frankly terrible. My two favorite "PEV Fails" included an ad where an individual badly needed to use a gas station bathroom (but at least I don't need to fill up on gas!) and another with a PEV driver getting a ticket from highway patrol (at least he saved money on gas!). Austin Energy launched the "ChargeForth" campaign in 2012 to first focus on the general idea of PEVs then evolved into supporting the top 3 reasons, in order of importance, our focus groups were interested in PEVs; 1. Fun and cool 2. Economics 3. Environment.Increasing Adoption and Value of Plug-in Electric Vehicles through UtilitiesIN MY OPINION
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