North Carolina based Roanoke EC has partnered with the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC) to offer a pilot program featuring an innovative new rate option that leaves the cooperative in control of the energy supply while offering members a discount on the standard residential rate for charging electric vehicles. Stakeholders hope this new program will encourage EV purchases among members and lower wholesale power costs across the co-op.
“We wanted to encourage an EV market in northeastern North Carolina and offer our member-owners a path toward easier adoption of this emerging technology,” Says Roanoke Electric Chief Operating Officer Marshall Cherry. “Additionally, having more members incentivized to charge their EVs off-peak could positively impact our wholesale power costs.”
CFC and Roanoke, while exploring potential rate options to fit their specially crafted EV strategy, consulted with national partner SEDC to understand the billing capabilities of new pricing structures, and relied heavily on Advanced Metering Infrastructure AMI data to develop the new rate.
The pilot program is set to run through December 2022, having finished installing the charger, programming the rate, and load controls for the first signee in January of 2021.