Proposal 4 – Delivering effective smart charging

19 November 2019

Government and Ofgem to ensure that smart charging delivers benefits to consumers whilst ensuring electricity system security. 

Smart charging systems can be complex with multiple parties, including the network and system operators, energy suppliers and aggregators, requiring the ability to modify the charging programme of an EV or groups of EVs. There is currently no industry code governing the order of precedence that would be applied in the event that more than one party requests control of an EV’s charging at the same time. Precedence could be governed by a market or by deterministic rules. It is also expected that consumers will expect clarity about which party has the ability to modify their EV’s charging programme and, in the event of the programme being modified, which party was responsible.

A lack of coordination and visibility in terms of which parties are exploiting flexibility from smart chargepoints, might lead not only to missed opportunities for electricity system efficiency and monetary benefits for EV drivers, but also risks to electricity system security and stability.

Ofgem and Government, should ensure that:

• Effective governance is in place to ensure coordination of smart charging through appropriate codes governing dispatch of smart charging control and/or price signals. Coordination of the installation of any control or metering equipment at the interface with the consumer’s smart charger should also be guaranteed;
• Consumers using smart charging have a clear understanding of the parties (or party acting on behalf of multiple parties) that have the ability to control their chargepoints;
• Consumers have a clear understanding of the rules under which they operate and the consumer’s ability to override the control signal;
• Consumers must receive information on which parties have been responsible for modifying their charging programme; and
• Consumers receive clear information that enables them to understand the remuneration or cost savings they should receive as a result of transactions over a given settlement period.