Through its infrastructure programs, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has installed more than 6,300 electric vehicle (EV) charging ports throughout Northern and Central California. It has since developed a new way to connect EV fast-charging stations and grid-scale batteries even more quickly.
The new Flexible Service Connection, or Flex Connect, lets customers with controllable power needs (like EV chargers) connect to the grid without waiting for capacity upgrades.
Flex Connect uses PG&E’s cloud-based Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS) to coordinate a site’s power demand based on when electricity supply is readily available. Essentially, the solution allows a site to connect sooner, while PG&E completes necessary long-term infrastructure upgrades.
Developed and deployed in collaboration with Microsoft and Schneider Electric, PG&E’s DERMS connects to the site’s energy management system and sends an hourly power limit forecast a day in advance so the customer can plan ahead.
Powering Supercharger sites
In early 2024, Tesla applied for PG&E electric service for several new Supercharger stations along key highway corridors. PG&E said upgrading the grid would take a few years to provide enough power where Tesla wanted the sites.
But if Tesla could be flexible with their power needs, they could connect the new fast chargers sooner.
Here’s how it works:
- Tesla asks for 2 MW of power for a new Supercharger site.
- Most of the time, the grid can provide the full 2 MW. But during peak times, like hot summer evenings, the site would be limited to 0.5 MW.
- Normally, Tesla would have to wait for grid upgrades to get the full 2 MW year round.
- With Flex Connect, Tesla connects their charging site to PG&E’s grid and DERMS, which adjusts the power based on availability (using a day-ahead forecast). This way, Tesla can get the full 2 MW right away and nearly all the time.
To date, Flex Connect has helped Tesla increase the capacity of two new Supercharger sites (in Santa Nella and Upper Lake, Calif.) with numerous additional sites in development.
Powering EV semitrucks
PepsiCo’s bottling facility in Fresno, CA recently joined Flex Connect to get extra grid capacity sooner, enabling the site to increase the charging capabilities of its electric semi-truck fleet from approximately 30 trucks to the full fleet of 50.
Previously, the site was limited to 3 MW of capacity at night and zero MW during the day while waiting for long-term infrastructure upgrades. With Flex Connect, the facility now receives up to 4.5 MW most of the time, based on grid availability, providing critical daytime charging capabilities.
Through Flex Connect, PG&E helped Pepsi unlock this additional capacity 18 months earlier than originally projected. The long-term capacity upgrade is expected to be complete by June 2026, but with Flex Connect, the additional power has been available for PepsiCo since December 2024 — 18 months ahead of schedule.
By energizing 20 trucks ahead of schedule, PepsiCo estimates a reduction of approximately 8,000 tons of CO2 emissions and savings of around $1 million in fuel costs. These estimates are based on regional emissions and cost profiles from Tesla’s Semi Truck Analysis Tool.
PepsiCo has additional EV fleet sites in the queue for Flex Connect as it continues to advance its broader sustainability goals.
PG&E supports its commercial customers, like PepsiCo, to go electric through the EV Fleet program, which helps fleet operators easily and cost-effectively install charging infrastructure to save money, eliminate tailpipe emissions and simplify maintenance. EV Fleet is a comprehensive program that encompasses incentives and rebates, site design and permitting, and construction and activation.
Filed Under: Charging, Technology News