BGE, Sunrun launch bidirectional charging program

Maryland’s BGE, Sunrun and Ford announced Wednesday they had partnered up to launch the first program in the country to provide electric vehicle owners with the ability to power their home from their vehicle’s battery.

The partnership uses Sunrun Home Integration Systems, along with Ford’s F-150 Lightning truck to power a vehicle-to-home initiative targeting BGE electric system peak hours. The system would us the EV truck’s battery to reduce peak energy use, reduce air pollution and lower electricity costs for customers who participate, officials said.

The pilot will run Brian Foreman’s home off of his F-150 EV truck on a set schedule, officials said.

“In the future, electric vehicles will make the grid more resilient for all, including non-electric vehicle owners,” he said. “This new program gives me the opportunity to provide feedback to the companies and organizations responsible for developing, deploying, and improving the infrastructure necessary to electrify the transportation sector.”

The Howard County, Maryland resident relies on the integration system from Sunrun to discharge the truck’s battery during certain summer weekdays when grid demand is higher and power is more expensive, BGE officials said. The combined technology takes advantage of interconnection with BGE to allow the truck’s battery to work in concert with Foreman’s electric service, they said. Previously, the EV truck could only serve as a backup energy source only in a power outage.

“We know that the power stored in electric vehicles will be essential in our state’s effort to achieve its bold net-zero emissions goals,” Mark Case, vice president of Regulatory Policy and Strategy at BGE, said. “Insights from Mr. Foreman’s and other customers’ experiences will help BGE unlock and learn the potential of how vehicle-to-home and vehicle-to-grid programs will support increasing grid efficiency and reliability with distributed energy resources, while providing a valuable new benefit to customers.”

The technology is being piloted in advance of the DRIVE Act which will require BGE to establish a process to interconnect vehicle-to-grid technology installations by Nov. 1, 2024, and to submit a pilot proposal using vehicle-to-grid technology to the Maryland Public Service Commission by July 1, 2025.

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