Electric vehicles

In 2018, LES launched a new EV study focused on our customers’ charging behaviors and the impact on our local grid. LES provided participants an easy-to-install module that records when and where customers charge, when and how far they travel, and the energy consumed while both traveling and recharging. FleetCarma, a leader in studying electric vehicle fleets, is helping facilitate the study by providing the data collection platform and anonymizing the data for customer privacy.

For 2021, LES added a demand response pilot to the study scope, incentivizing participants to avoid charging during peak system demand periods in both the winter and summer seasons. 

To analyze the data, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, an arm of the U.S. Department of Energy located in Golden, Colorado, is teaming with LES along with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s College of Engineering. By collaborating with LES, UNL faculty and students in its Electrical and Computer Engineering department will have the opportunity to access and leverage data for further analysis.

LES has received two grants to help support the project. The American Public Power Association’s Demonstration of Energy & Efficiency Development program awarded LES a grant of $46,075, and the Nebraska Environmental Trust awarded LES a grant of $20,200.
 

LES also partnered with the Electric Power Research Institute in 2018 to learn more about the prospects for the future growth of EVs. This effort, comprising eight utilities across the country, surveyed customers to understand more about the key barriers and drivers to plug-in vehicle adoption. The study culminated in 2019 with the development of a new model intended to forecast future EV adoption in our service area.