Customer Services - Consumer Portal -

Electric Vehicle Function

Narrative
Steps
Additional Information

Narrative

Overview

A utility company wants to promote the increased use of electric vehicles in its service area by offering significantly reduced electricity rates for nighttime recharging of vehicle battery. Each EV is given a unique id which is keyed to the customer so that the utility’s billing system can bill the customer under the reduced EV charging rates. The system also permits the customer to use the charging station at another customer’s site [such as at a friend’s house] and have the system bill the vehicle owner instead of the customer whose charging station is used.

Description

A western utility has a residential customer base of 1 million meters. The meters are installed in single-family detached housing (SFD), single-family attached housing (SFA), apartment buildings, and mobile homes. The utility wishes to promote the use of alternate fueled cars including electric vehicles and fuel-cell powered vehicles.

The utility decides to provide incentives for the residential use of electric vehicles by offering greatly reduced kWh tariffs for nighttime recharging. The issues confronting the utility are:

They need to know which homes have electric vehicles by meter number and premise number.

The utility goes through the following procedures.

1. The utility offers discounted electricity to recharge electric vehicle batteries. To do this a customer must purchase the car and charging station using their own resources and as an incentive the utility offers greatly reduced nighttime charging rates/kWh. The customer plugs in the car to the charger and requests “charge at cheapest rates”. The utility is notified of the cars presence, its ID number (which must correspond to the car registered with the homeowner), and its approximate charge requirement (provided by the car’s on board computer). The utility schedules the recharge to take place during the evening hours and at different times than other EV charging (thus putting diversity into the load).

2. The billing department now calculates the amount of money to charge the EV customer based on EV rates and for the measured time period.

3. The same EV customer drives to a friend’s home (who also has an EV) and requests a quick charge to make sure that he can get back home. When he plugs his EV into his friend’s EV charger, the utility identifies the fact that the EV belongs to a different customer and places the charging bill on the correct persons invoice, not on the friend’s bill who offered his charging station.

4. The billing department now calculates the amount of money to invoice the customer who owns the EV, based on EV rates and for the measured time period.

Steps

#	Event	Name of Process/Activity	Description of Process/Activity	Information Producer	Information Receiver	Name of Info Exchanged	IntelliGrid Architecture Environments
1	Customer Request for EV Charging	Request for EV charging	Customer plugs in EV into charging station	EV On-Board System	EV Charging Station and Customer Communication Portal	Charging Request	Intra-Customer Site
1.1.1		EV On-Board System Identifies the EV	EV On-Board System sends EV Id Number and charging requirements	EV On-Board System	Customer Communication Portal	EV Id, EV charge requirements	Intra-Customer Site
1.1.2		Customer Communication Portal location and EV information	Customer Communication Portal at location sends EV information, Customer Id and Customer Communication Portal location information	Customer Communication Portal	EV Operation System	Customer information and EV/Customer Communication Portal location information	Intra-Customer Site
1.2		Determine type of charging to implement	Power Company compares EV and location information to determine type of charging to implement	EV Operation System	EV Operation System	Identify if the vehicle is at customer or third-party location	Intra-Customer Site
2.1	Charging request from customer home	Determine electric rate applicable	EV Operation System queries EV Operation System to determine electric rate applicable to request	Customer Id, EV Id Number	EV Operation System	EV power rates	Intra-Customer Site
2.1.1		Confirms charging requirements	EV Operation System confirms charging requirements	EV Operation System	EV Operation System	EV charging requirements	Intra-Customer Site
2.2		Assign charging time slot	EV Operation System queries EV Charging Scheduler to assign charging time slot	EV Charging Scheduler	EV Operation System		Intra-Customer Site
2.2.1		Informs Customer Communication Portal on charging start time	EV Charging Scheduler informs Customer Communication Portal on charging start time	EV Charging Scheduler	Customer Communication Portal	Time slot allotment for EV charging	Intra-Customer Site
2.3		Turns on Charging Station	Customer Communication Portal turns on Charging Station at assigned time	Customer Communication Portal	EV Charging Station, EV	Initiate EV charging	Intra-Customer Site
2.3.1		Customer Communication Portal alters meter	Customer Communication Portal alerts meter to start monitoring power used for charging	Customer Communication Portal	Meter Device	Start measuring power consumption	Intra-Customer Site
2.3.2		Turn off charging	EV On-Board System turns off Charging station on completing the charging operation	EV On-Board System	EV Charging Station	Turn off power to EV	Intra-Customer Site
2.3.3		Power Consumption information	Meter Device sends power consumption information to Customer Communication Portal	Meter Device	Customer Communication Portal	Power consumed for EV charging	Intra-Customer Site
2.3.4		Completion of charging	Customer Communication Portal confirms to EV Operation System on completion of charging operation	Customer Communication Portal	EV Operation System	Completion of charging operation	Intra-Customer Site
3.1	Charging Request from third party location	Mark as third party charging event	EV Operation System alerts EV Operation System to mark charging operation as third party charging event		EV Operation System	Flag identifying operation as third-party charging event	Intra-Customer Site
3.1.1		Collect EV and Customer information	EV Operation System collects EV customer Id and Customer Communication Portal customer Id [owner of the third-party charging station] information	Customer Id of EV owner, EV Id Number, Customer Id of Customer Communication Portal	EV Operation System	EV and Customer information	Intra-Customer Site
3.1.2		Determine electric rate applicable	EV Operation System queries EV Operation System to determine electric rate applicable to request	Customer Id, EV Id Number	EV Operation System	EV power rates	Intra-Customer Site
3.1.3		Confirm charging requirements	EV Operation System confirms charging requirements	EV Operation System	EV Operation System	EV charging requirements	Intra-Customer Site
3.2		Assign charging time slot	EV Operation System queries EV Charging Scheduler to assign charging time slot	EV Charging Scheduler	EV Operation System		Intra-Customer Site
3.2.1		Informs Customer Communication Portal on charging start time	EV Operation System informs Customer Communication Portal on charging start time	EV Charging Scheduler	Customer Communication Portal	Time slot allotment for EV charging	Intra-Customer Site
3.3		Turns on Charging	Customer Communication Portal turns on Charging Station at assigned time	Customer Communication Portal	EV Charging Station, EV	Initiate EV charging	Intra-Customer Site
3.3.1		Customer Communication Portal alters meter	Customer Communication Portal alerts meter to start monitoring power used for charging	Customer Communication Portal	Meter Device	Start measuring power consumption	Intra-Customer Site
3.3.2		Turn off charging	EV On-Board System turns off Charging Station on completing the charging operation	EV On-Board System	EV Charging Station	Turn off power to EV	Intra-Customer Site
3.3.3		Power Consumption information	Meter Device sends power consumption information to Customer Communication Portal	Meter Device	Customer Communication Portal	Power consumed for EV charging	Intra-Customer Site
3.3.4		Completion of charging	Customer Communication Portal confirms to EV Operation System on completion of charging operation	Customer Communication Portal	EV Operation System	Completion of charging operation	Intra-Customer Site
3.3.5		Power Consumption data sent to Database	Power consumption data flagged to EV owner’s Customer Id	Customer Communication Portal	EV Operation System	Assign power usage to EV owner’s account	Intra-Customer Site
4.1		Transmit power consumption to Billing	Transmit power consumption information to Customer Billing System	EV Operation System	Customer Billing System	Power consumer and applicable rate for EV charging	Intra-Customer Site
4.1.1		Billing information for the power consume	Alert EV owner’s Customer Communication Portal with charge information	Customer Billing System	Customer Communication Portal	Billing information for the power consumed for charging	Intra-Customer Site
4.1.2		Acknowledgment of charging	Confirm charging operation completion to EV Charging Scheduler	EV Operation System	EV Charging Scheduler	Acknowledgment of charging operation completion	Intra-Customer Site

Additional Information

Actor (Stakeholder) Roles

*Grouping (Community) ^,*		*Group Description*
*Customer Site*		*Those entities that are located at customer’s premises*
*Actor Name*	*Actor Type (person, device, system etc.)*	*Actor Description*
Customer	Person	One signed up to participate in the Distributed Energy Resource (DER) program.
Customer Communication Portal	System	Customer Communications Portal (Customer Communication Portal), System handling communications function at customer’s premises [in this case, identifying the customer, communications with the charging station, the EV’s on-board computer, meter, and the utility]
Meter Device	Device	Device that can measure the power consumed by the customer along with the time at which the power is consumed (so that in this case the utility can charge the appropriate rate for the EV charging at time) and transmit the information to the utility for billing purposes
EV Charging Station	System	System at the customer site used to charge the EV batteries
EV Id Number	Device	Unique identification number assigned to each participating EV by the utility for tracking power used to charge the batteries of that vehicle
EV On-Board System	System	System in the EV used to communicate with the utility via the EV Charging Station and the Customer Communication Portal at the customer location

*Grouping (Community) ^,*		*Group Description*
*Power Company Electric Vehicle Operations*		*Those entities that are charged with managing the EV-related functions for the power company*
*Actor Name*	*Actor Type (person, device, system etc.)*	*Actor Description*
EV Operation System	System	System that contains information about the rates applicable to Electric Vehicle (EV) charging, customers participating in the EV program, their location, and details of their system, such as EV Id, amount of power needed to charge the system, and so on.
EV Charging Scheduler	System	System that manages the scheduling of charging of EV to ensure system load diversity
Customer Id	Device	Customer identification key that is used by the power company to identify customer for associating the customer with its billing activities
Customer Billing System	System	System that handles generation of bills for the services provided to the customer
Utility Communications Network	System	System responsible for managing communications between the utility and the participants in the EV program [for functions such as remote meter reading, controlling EV charging stations at customer sites, monitoring EV charging activities and other related communications activities]
EV

*Grouping (Community) ^,*		*Group Description*
*Others*		*Those entities that are involved in this activity, but do not fit in any of the Groupings above*
*Actor Name*	*Actor Type (person, device, system etc.)*	*Actor Description*
Third Party EV Charging Station	System	System at a different customer’s site [other than the owner of the EV being charged] for charging EV batteries
Energy Service Provider

Information exchanged

*Information Object Name*	*Information Object Description*
EV Charge Request from Customer’s Home Location	Request from customer to charge EV at “cheapest available rates” from the home location along with EV Id, Customer Id and related EV information
EV Charge Implementation at Customer’s Home Location	System order to verify customer information, schedule EV charging after checking other EV charging already scheduled in that area, initiating the charging operation, alerting the Customer Communication Portal and meter to acquire the power used for charging and time when used, collecting the metering information at the conclusion of the charging activity, and flagging the power delivered for appropriate billing rates by the billing system
EV Charge Request from Third Party Location	Request from customer to charge EV from a third party location along with EV Id, Customer Id, third party location EV Charging Station and customer id information and related EV information
EV Charge Implementation at Third Party Location	System order to verify customer and third party location information, schedule a quick-charge EV charging operation, alerting the Customer Communication Portal and meter to acquire the power used for charging and time when used, collecting the metering information at the conclusion of the charging activity, and flagging the power delivered for appropriate billing rates by the billing system to the customer account associated with the EV (and not the third party location customer whose EV Charging Station was used for the quick charge operation)

Activities/Services

*Activity/Service Name*	*Activities/Services Provided*
Receive Customer Initiated EV Charge Request	On receipt of customer initiated EV charge request, verify charge request origin by accessing EV Operation System database to compare EV Id with Customer Id sent by the Customer Communication Portal: if the request origin is same as customer home location, then set flag to implement EV charging at customer location; if request origin is not customer home location, then set flag to implement EV charging at third party location.
Implement EV Charging	Initiate EV charging actions: access EV Operation System Database to determine charging requirements, access EV Charging Scheduler to assign time slot for charging to ensure load diversity, initiate charging at the assigned time, alert Customer Communication Portal and meter to record power consumption and to transmit power usage data on completion of the charging operation, and signal Customer Communication Portal to turn off the charging station. If the request originated from a third party location, then implement a quick charge operation as soon as possible [so as to enable the customer EV to be charged for travel back to customer home location].
Complete Post-Charge Activities	Initiate actions to transmit metering data to customer billing system to generate a charge based on applicable EV tariff rates. If the operation is customer home location charging, then the customer’s account is billed; if the operation is third party charging, then the customer account associated with the EV is billed for the charging operation.

Contracts/Regulations

*Contract/Regulation*	*Impact of Contract/Regulation on Function*
EV Program Tariffs	Reduced electric power rates based on off-peak charging based on customer acquiring required equipment at their cost – such as the EV, the charging station and related equipment

*Policy*	*From Actor*	*May*	*Shall Not*	*Shall*	*Description (verb)*	*To Actor*
Install EV Equipment	Customer			X	Customer needs to buy their EV and install EV Charging system at site to participate in the program	Energy Service Provider
Provide EV Id	Energy Service Provider			X	Provide customer’s EV with a unique id that will be transmitted when the EV is plugged into a charging station	Customer
Provide EV Rates	Energy Service Provider			X	Provide reduced electric power rates that will be applied to charging EV at off-peak times	Customer

*Constraint*	*Type*	*Description*	*Applies to*
Charging Period	Rate Availability	A customer can utilize special EV power rates for charging during specified off-peak periods	Request for EV charging by customer