Appalachian Power will offer residential owners of plug-in electric cars a special time-of-day rate with a discount for charging their vehicles when demand for power is lower. The Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) approved an experimental rate option for residential customers with electric cars in the company's Virginia territory.
A residential customer with a typical electric car consumption of 2,700 kilowatt-hours (kWh) annually will save about $86.50 for home-charging the vehicle during off-peak hours generally, nighttime hours under the new rate as compared to the current standard residential rate.
The company expects the new option to be available to its Virginia customers before the end of 2019.
"This new time-of-day rate is another way we are responding to our customers' changing needs and working toward an innovative future for our industry," said Chris Beam, Appalachian's president and chief operating officer. "It should appeal to the existing owners of plug-in electric cars and potential purchasers who are already our customers in Virginia, as well as encourage others to consider the purchase of an electric car over the traditional gasoline option when making their next buying decision."
Recent data indicate that almost 700 plug-in electric cars are currently registered to owners in Virginia communities served by Appalachian Power.
Eligible residential locations will have a second Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) meter installed specifically for their plug-in electric car which enables off-peak charging with no changes to the residential rates. AMI household meters are already in place at most Virginia residences and will be fully deployed by 2021.
Customers who choose this option will receive one bill that combines both their residential bill and the costs for car charging.
Appalachian will provide detailed information to its Virginia residential customers as soon as sign-up requirements, off-peak details and technical interfaces are finalized, allowing them to take part in the offering.
The pilot program will last for at least four years as approved by the SCC.
Appalachian Power has 1 million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee (as AEP Appalachian Power). It is a unit of American Electric Power, one of the largest electric companies in the United States. AEP is focused on building a smarter energy infrastructure and delivering new technologies and custom energy solutions to customers. AEP's more than 18,000 employees operate and maintain the nation's largest electricity transmission system and more than 219,000 miles of distribution lines to efficiently deliver safe, reliable power to nearly 5.4 million regulated customers in 11 states. AEP also is one of the nation's largest electricity producers with approximately 32,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity, including 5,300 megawatts of renewable energy.
