Enel X to provide 550 home EV chargers with Washington utilities

Enel X will provide more than 550 homes in Washington state with JuiceBox smart chargers, in separate partnerships with utilities Puget Sound Energy and Seattle City Light. The collaborations seek to encourage adoption of EVs and to help the state reach its targets of carbon-neutral electricity by 2030 and 100% clean energy by 2045. Enel X's JuiceNet platform helps EV customers to charge during periods of lower electricity costs and high renewable energy availability by analysing charging patterns and data from the grid. Enel X has over 6 GW of demand response capacity across the Americas, Europe, Asia and Oceania.

Enel X, the Enel Group’s advanced energy services business line, announced two EV smart charging programs with Washington state utilities—Puget Sound Energy (PSE) and Seattle City Light, serving the Bellevue and Seattle metro areas respectively—to provide more than 550 Enel X JuiceBox smart chargers to residential customers.

The programs are intended to help boost EV adoption in the state by showing customers the benefits of electric mobility, while gathering insights into EV drivers’ charging behavior to learn how to efficiently scale smart-charging programs. Furthermore, the two partnerships are expected to help in meeting the state’s ambitious decarbonization targets of achieving carbon-neutral electricity by 2030 and 100% clean electricity by 2045.

This year, Washington state passed two key climate policies, which chart a path to 100 percent clean electricity by 2045 and add new incentives for electric vehicles and charging infrastructure to support its decarbonization strategy. As Washington and other states embrace aggressive renewable energy portfolio standards for electric transportation, we expect smart charging to provide dual-benefits to the utility and all of its customers—not just the residents driving EVs. —Preston Roper, Head of Enel X e-Mobility, North America

With these two new partnerships, Enel X North America has now announced three new utility smart charging programs in the last month, broadening its portfolio of partners across the US to more than 20 utilities in its effort to boost the development of electric mobility. Currently, Enel X has sold more than 50,000 JuiceBox smart chargers in North America.

In partnership with Enel X, Puget Sound Energy recently launched the Up & Go Electric home charger program, which provides 500 qualified electric customers who apply online with a PSE-branded JuiceBox smart charging station, powered by JuiceNet software, providing the customers with a cost-effective, grid-connected charging solution and enabling the utility to support broader adoption of EVs and manage peak electricity demands.

The JuiceNet platform monitors drivers’ historical charging patterns, acquires real-time input and signals from the electric grid to aggregate and manage charging station demand, allowing EV drivers to contribute by charging at times when electricity costs are lower and renewable energy is most available. The program, which experienced a high volume of interest from customers, has now reached capacity; the offer also covered 75% of installation costs up to US$2,000.

Seattle City Light will provide up to 70 customers participating in the program with a JuiceBox and support for home installation for a monthly fee. Seattle City Light will use the data collected to analyze EV charging patterns to inform future programs and support continued growth of electric transportation in the region, enabling the identification of cost-effective ways to dually support grid optimization and electrification.

EV adoption is expected to increase more quickly in Washington state than in other US regions. According to a report from Seattle City Light and the Rocky Mountain Institute published earlier in 2019, EVs on the road in Washington are expected to increase to 140,000 by 2030, up from 50,000 in 2019.

Enel X is Enel’s global business line dedicated to developing innovative products and digital solutions in sectors in which energy is showing the greatest potential for transformation: cities, homes, industries and electric mobility.

Enel X holds the leading position in demand response programmes globally, with more than 6 GW of demand response capacity currently managed and assigned in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Oceania. Enel X’s electric vehicle charging station technology, called JuiceBox, and its JuiceNet platform, provide smart management of electric vehicle charging and other distributed energy storage facilities. Enel X operates more than 50,000 electric vehicle smart charging points in 20 countries.

Enel X in North America has around 3,700 business customers, spanning more than 10,400 sites, representing approximately 4.7 GW of demand response capacity and more than 20 operational behind-the-meter storage projects. The company’s intelligent DER Optimization Software is designed to analyze real-time energy and utility bill data, improve performance, and manage distributed energy assets, including behind-the-meter storage projects.