A new pilot program in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area may help boost waning Canadian interest in electric vehicles.
The EV charging pilot is part of a study being conducted by two groups: San Francisco-based Optiwatt, a telematics-based home energy analytics platform in North America, and Toronto’s The Atmospheric Fund (TAF). In a news release, Optiwatt said the program could save enrolled drivers up to 70 per cent on their charging costs.
The company said the report looks at how regional utilities can meet a greater energy demand as EV adoption increases. “We launched Optiwatt to help EV drivers who were having a hard time optimizing their charging routines, but our platform has since grown and evolved,” said Casey Donahue, Founder and CEO of Optiwatt, in a statement.
He said the app platform now provides real savings for EV owners, while also helping utility companies incentivize drivers to use clean energy at lower rates. “This is a win-win solution, allowing users to save time and money while encouraging greater EV adoption, and accelerating a smoother transition to green energy for communities by supporting the electrical grid,” added Donahue.
The immediate beneficiaries of the study, however, will be local study participants. They are expected to save an average of $388 per year.
Optiwatt said it will be administering the pilot program in partnership with Canadian-based consultancy firm Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors. Both will help provide an analysis to help utility companies use these findings to create better rewards programs for EV drivers.
More information about the free program is available at optiwatt.com/gtha. Enrollment into the pilot program runs through December 31, 2024.
