June 2024 Newsletter

3rd session to identify actions to make EV charging choices easier

On behalf of EECA, FlexForum is coordinating a workplan co-design process that will set out the actions required to make it easier for households and businesses to make choices about flexible EV charging and chargers.   

You are welcome to join the 3rd online Workshop starting at 0930 Thursday 27 June 2024. This session will be looking at what needs to be done for flexible EV charging to be the easy and obvious choice for households and businesses.

Get in touch at info@flexforum.nz if you want to come to workshop 3.

Insights from workshop 2… ‘the electricity sector wants me to do what?’

The vibe from the second workshop to identify how to make EV charging choices easier could be described as a series of questions…. What are you (the electricity sector) talking about? What does that mean? What do you want me (a human) to do? Why exactly should I do that?

There was a real focus on the choices and decisions that EV owners must make when thinking about charging and how these add up to a significant amount of life admin which most people do not have time for. This highlighted the importance of people getting good advice about the options and benefits of flexible charging which reflects their circumstances, and how this advice will probably come from vehicle retailers or electricians.

The conversation also highlighted the assumption that people will be comfortable with ceding control and independence over the amount of fuel in the tank of their personal vehicle, regardless of whether this is the actual or perceived outcome of flexible charging.

Permeating the conversations was the criticality of the electricity sector fully monetising the value of flexible charging to put actual benefits or money on the table to encourage people to invest in the capability to provide flexibility.

New FlexForum Member

Great to have Intellihub joining FlexForum this month. It is good to welcome more Members to bring fresh perspectives and test thinking.

Thinking FlexForum Membership is the new black?

Get in touch at info@flexforum.nz to find out how to get involved.

Things FlexForum are working on

June 2024 Newsletter

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We are getting stuck into the 2024 workplan. Here is an update on where things are at with the initial 7 tasks we are working on.

Task	Currently working on…
A plausible future state for distributed flexibility	We talked about what good looks like in 2040 in late May. Unsurprisingly we didn’t come up with the answer, but everyone agreed it is a necessary and useful question to answer particularly to establish a clear direction of travel, determine priorities and hold people accountable for doing things that should be done. Two interesting insights were: how it will be super important for people to have access to information and advice to make decisions about electricity and flexibility. the critical role that electricians, the building and construction sector, manufacturers (of potentially flexible equipment), big box stores (who sell the equipment), electrical inspectors and installers will play in helping people make decisions about flexibility
The many ways a household, business or community can benefit from distributed flexibility	Still putting the finishing touches on a description of the outcomes that people can get using flexibility, the menu of actions, and most importantly, current day experience. Unfortunately, not all the outcomes wanted by households, businesses and communities are available or possible in 2024.
Designing a smart EV charging workplan	Workshop 3 is happening 27 June 2024 to work out what needs to happen.
A stocktake of the existing flexible resources, their opportunities and beneficiaries	We are doing final checks on a FlexForum Insights, currently called…. Maximising the value of flexibility relies on making that value easily and routinely available to households, businesses and communities. As sneak peak, the story goes something like…. flexibility is like a swiss army knife and can do heaps of cool stuff. There is a bunch of flexible resources which could be put to work. But there are holes in the value stack which mean people have fewer reasons to make their flexibility available when it is valuable….
Set the scene for digitalising the electricity ecosystem	We have a list of the data and data flows that will probably be needed to enable the future electricity system and market. We hope to share this soon.
Track progress with delivering the FlexForum Flexibility Plan 1.0 for the electricity ecosystem	Members are right now giving their perspective on whether progress has been fast enough. We expect to share some results talking about what priorities should be by early July.
Update the Flexibility Plan	This task will start once we understand the state of progress.

Want to get involved?

FlexForum Members want to make it easier for households, businesses and communities to maximise the value of their energy resources and their flexibility. This flexibility will help deliver an affordable and reliable operation of the electricity system and enable accelerated electrification as part of Aotearoa New Zealand’s transition to a zero emissions economy.

If this sounds like you, check out our Intro to FlexForum for more on our what, why, how and who.

Or check out www.flexforum.nz to find out more or get in touch at info@flexforum.nz if you want to become a Member.