Latest California Mobility Center alliance focuses collaboration on national electric system reliability, rising EV charging loads
The California Mobility Center (CMC), the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and have formed a working group to help identify and mitigate the potential risks to the Bulk Power System as a result of the rising deployment of electric vehicle (EV) charging loads across the country.
Early participation in the CMC’s working group includes experts from the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), Southern California Edison, AMPLY Power, Alectra Utilities, E-Source and other CMC members, as well as General Motors and other EV stakeholders.
“Electricity consumption by plug-in electric vehicles across North America will grow exponentially over the next decade,” said CMC Board Chair Arlen Orchard and former CEO and general manager of SMUD. “The rapid rate of growth poses significant implications to electric system reliability if left unaddressed. This significant collaboration will support electric system reliability and importantly, a successful transition to mass electric vehicle adoption.”
North America is intensifying its efforts to reduce carbon emissions and increase transportation system electrification across consumer, public agency and commercial sectors. As part of this effort, working group participants will use their specific knowledge and vast networks to strengthen the collective impact. The goal of this collaboration is to increase information sharing and knowledge among the growing EV equipment, software and services system, the electricity industry and other stakeholders about reliability risks and mitigation strategies.
The formation of the working group follows a CMC webinar on the topic in March in which experts from NERC, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), and WECC participated.
“Joe Eto from Berkeley Lab, Ryan Quint from NERC and Branden Sudduth from WECC are providing outstanding support and guidance to the working group,” said Orchard. “Their collective knowledge and research in this area is a tremendous asset in framing the electric system reliability landscape and focus for the EV industry.”
“Electrification of the transportation sector will be a rapidly growing component of demand in the coming decades,” added Jim Robb, NERC president and CEO. “The North American grid must adapt and prepare for these changes and this type of cross-sector collaboration, and innovation is critical if we are all to be successful. NERC is committed to working with stakeholders to unify our efforts in these areas and this is a great example of us working with others in the ecosystem to advance our shared reliability goals.”
Melanie Frye, president and CEO of WECC stated, “The West is at the forefront of the nation’s efforts to decarbonize the grid and electrify the transportation sector. The collective and interdependent impact of these actions will significantly alter energy usage profiles in a way that could substantially affect the reliability of the Bulk Power System. Bringing together grid reliability experts with vehicle manufacturers creates an opportunity to proactively address the range of reliability implications.”
Participation in the working group is free of charge.
