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Comment 3 for Public Workshop Series to Commence Development of the 2022 Scoping Plan Update (sp22-kickoff-ws) - 1st Workshop.
First Name: Mike
Last Name: Brady
Email Address: mikebrady42@yahoo.com
Affiliation:
Subject: EV adoption and charging rates
Comment:
PUC presentation leaves me feeling cold about EV adoption. They and the IOUs seem to be designing a system that makes it impossible for most people (and businesses) to figure out what actually works. Something relatively affordable and simpler is needed, at least for smaller loads. Frankly, a system where rates are partially unbundled, with basic connection costs covered by a fixed charge (perhaps variable by service capacity) and variable charges primarily covering energy. Some municipal utilities have such a residential rate structure. A big issue seems to be that lower usage by those who can afford building improvement and EV/solar/storage options impacts lower-income customers who can't afford that, or are renters and simply can't do it. That assumes, of course, that EVs will be mostly charged at home (or possibly at work). There are both rate and incentive programs that can help with that, without significantly harming the rate of installation of rooftop solar. Rooftops are a good place for solar - the land is already developed, so the environmental impact (compared to greenfield solar) is minimal. It also distributes the generation so large investments in new transmission should be less necessary. And solar by itself is *almost* affordable for building owners now. The biggest issue is storage. EVs are an obvious source for that - big batteries sitting in the garage or driveway most of the time. But most EVs currently do not support 2-way charging, so they can't be used as local storage. 2-way charging is a well-known technology - many Nissan Leaf EVs had it as standard initially - but with no grid or even BTM support it hasn't been included in most EVs. That needs to change - ARB should require that all new EVs support 2-way charging, and should require that equipment for solar energy systems support it (including retrofit options). Storage otherwise is still way too expensive for wide adoption. Incentives for development of affordable and grid-manageable storage (so it's not entirely BTM) might help, and storage clearly has a major role in taming the duck curve. But for now, "solar" storage is cost-effective only for cases where the grid is unreliable or rates are punitive. For small systems (as might be purchased by an individual homeowner or small-property landlord), a modest amount of battery storage costs more than the solar panels that might feed it. I'd also suggest looking at how rooftop solar is handled elsewhere. Discouraging it, as is currently being done by new rate structures in most utilities (municipal as well as IOU), is not a good approach considering the need for maximum development of renewable generation. South Australia's approach might be worth looking at in some depth, where they encourage rooftop solar with batteries and grid-manageable/curtailable.
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Date and Time Comment Was Submitted: 2021-06-10 10:12:13
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