DrivEV Smart Charging Rewards

Charge your electric vehicle and receive rewards for doing your part to help better manage our electric grid.

woman with phone charging EV

Earn Bill Credits for Charging Your EV

The power is in your hands to control when and how much you charge and get rewarded for charging your EV.

We’ve partnered with FlexCharging, a leader in EV charging technology, to create a program that offers our members an easy way to receive bill credits for charging your electric vehicle (EV) at home during reward times – between midnight and 3pm.

Most people drive 30 to 40 miles per day. If you drive like them, you could earn $8-10 dollars per month or $120 a year or more in savings!

Create a free, online DrivEV Smart Charging Rewards account and set up your vehicle’s charging schedule to receive monthly credits on your electric bill. Conditions apply. See details below.

How to Enroll

  • Ensure Your Vehicle is Compatible with the DrivEV Rewards Program.

    Program open to members who own or lease a compatible EV.

    If your make/model is not compatible with DrivEV Rewards now, don’t worry! More vehicles are being added all the time.

  • Enroll in DrivEV Smart Charging Rewards

    Click the link below to enroll in DrivEV Rewards.

    1. Follow the prompts to create an account.
    2. Select & connect your vehicle.
    3. Add your charging location.
    4. Then either select the DrivEV Rewards charging schedule to maximize your rewards or schedule charging yourself using your preferred application – such as EV manufacturer app, EV charger, vehicle dashboard, or other app.
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  • Questions?

    For questions or issues when enrolling in DrivEV Rewards, click the blue help button at the lower right-hand corner of your web browser. You may also access additional information and FAQs by scrolling further down this webpage.

    If you have technical questions about electricity consumption, how to set up your charging schedule, receiving your rewards, or experience issues, please reach out to us directly.

Program FAQs

  • Who Can Participate?

    Program participants must be a member of PVREA on a non time-of-use rate, with a compatible EV, and working Wi-Fi and/or cell service at the EV charging location.

    Participants must have access to their Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) mobile application. Each car manufacturer (e.g. Tesla, Rivian, Kia, etc.) has their own way of communicating with the car. This can often be called a ‘connected services app’. To connect your car to the FlexCharging program you will need your login credentials for the service from your manufacturer.

    • If you do not know your login for your car’s OEM online account, you will need to request/reset your account information with your manufacturer to obtain the correct information. This is needed to connect your car to FlexCharging.
  • What are the Incentives?

    Receive 2 cents off your electric bill per kWh used to charge your EV during our rewards time.

    Also receive a one-time sign-up bonus of $50 when you successfully enroll in the rewards program.

  • What are the Average Savings?

    Most people drive 30 to 40 miles per day. If you drive like them, you could earn $8-10 dollars per month or $120 a year or more in savings!

  • When are the Rewards Charging Times?

    Rewards Charging Times: 12am – 3pm Monday through Saturday and all day Sunday.
    Non-Rewards Time: 3pm – 12am Monday through Saturday.

    By opting in to our rewards charging times, you’ll receive the full benefits of program incentives.

    You always have the power to override our rewards schedule if you need to charge your EV during our non-rewards time. Members who override the rewards schedule will not receive any incentives for kWh used to charge an EV during our preferred non-rewards time.

    Remember, if you charge your EV during our preferred EV charging times, you will always maximize your program benefits.

  • Where can I Charge?

    Your selected EV charging location must be your PVREA service location (home address). Program participation requires reliable cell service/signal at the EV charging location.

     

  • How Long can I Participate?

    We’ve partnered with FlexCharging to create the DrivEV Smart Charging Rewards program.

    We expect this program to develop into a full-scale program in the future, however some of the features and attributes may change.

  • Can I Temporarily Opt Out?

    You always have the power to override our rewards schedule if you need to charge your EV during our non-rewards charge time between 3pm to midnight.

    Members who override our rewards schedule will not receive any incentives for kWh used to charge an EV during our non-rewards time.

    Remember, if you charge your EV during our rewards charging times of midnight to 3pm, you will always maximize your program benefits.

  • What are the Terms & Conditions?

    View the Terms & Conditions document electronically or print it out. If instructed to sign and return the document, click the button below.

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Questions from Drivers

  • What Do You Mean by OEM Account or App?

    Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) is the manufacturer of your car (e.g. Tesla, Rivian, Kia, etc.) and each has their own way of communicating with the car. This can often be called a ‘connected services app’. To connect your car to the FlexCharging program you will need your login credentials for the service from your manufacturer.

    If you do not know your login for your car’s OEM online account, you will need to request/reset your account information with your manufacturer to obtain the correct information. This is needed to connect your car to FlexCharging.

  • Are there Common Best Practices for each EV Manufacturer, Make, & Model?

    Connecting most EVs to the DrivEV program is a breeze, but sometimes there could be additional steps required to connect your vehicle. Below are some of the best practices we’ve found that may apply to your vehicle.

    Tesla

    Tesla has made a change to its software that may require Tesla drivers to reconnect their vehicle. To continue participating in DrivEV Smart Charging Rewards, we may need you to reconnect your Tesla to the program through a two-step process.

    1. Use the Reconnect Page link to open the DrivEV Smart Charging Rewards program web app. On the app, tap the “Reconnect Vehicle Now” button and follow the prompts to reconnect your Tesla to FlexCharging and Smarter. Please select all permissions when prompted. Once completed, go on to Step Two.
    2. Use this link to open the Tesla Virtual Key Setup guide. Follow the instructions on the Wiki page to set up your Tesla virtual phone key.

    Below are summaries of the four permission prompts that are required in step one:

    • The profile information enables us to validate against the connected service account and email used for the sing-up.
    • The vehicle information permission enables us to generate status events and access car information such as battery capacity, state of charge, etc.
    • The vehicle commands permissions allows us to wake the car up (when it’s in an asleep state) prior to initiating a control charge command.
    • The vehicle charging management permission enables us to send control charge commands to the car (start charge or end charging).

    Kia & Hyundai

    These cars have a 12V battery that could be drained if the vehicle is being polled too frequently. To mitigate this risk, we limit polling to these cars specifically to no more than 10 polls in a 12-hour period.

    We also suggest that participants who have either of these vehicles also implement these mitigation steps:

    • Make sure you are updating any app or car firmware. For example, Kia Niro vehicles have a firmware fix for a known energy drain problem, so drivers should confirm that they have the most up-to-date firmware.
    • Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq should plug their cars in if they go on long vacations to protect the 12V battery.
    • Bear in mind that checking your OEM app can drain the 12V battery. If your car is not plugged in, consider limiting how often you check the app to avoid battery drain issues.
  • How Do I Add Another Car?

    Once you are in your Dashboard, click “Add Vehicle +” at the bottom and you will be prompted to select your vehicle and add your log in credentials.

  • Why Should I Define a Charging Location?

    Charging locations should be defined to help utilities understand where EVs are being charged. Unless defined differently by the utility or co-op program, FlexChargning will only manage charging and/or transmit charging session information at locations that are defined.

  • Is My Information Secure?

    PVREA and FlexCharging takes your data security and data privacy very seriously and uses an encrypted token to communicate with your EV telematics system.

    We do not share information that personally identifies you with unaffiliated third parties for their marketing purposes unless you opt-in to that sharing. Visit FlexCharging’s Privacy Policy for full details.

  • What does FlexCharging Do with My Car Information?

    FlexCharging utilizes your car’s existing API to:

    • Help you meet your utility’s rate schedule and save you money (if you enable this feature).
    • Comply with the charging preferences you manually set up in the app.
    • Provide anonymized information to PVREA about driving data so they can plan new grid infrastructure and optimize new charging locations for electric vehicles.

    Visit FlexCharging’s Privacy Policy to learn more about how FlexCharging manages your data.

  • What is in it for PVREA, Utilities, Regulators, and other Energy & Sustainability Organizations?

    Your participation in these types of programs helps utilities in a number of ways.

    • Helps us plan for the massive influx of EVs onto the grid over the next decade by automating smart charging.
    • Costs could also potentially be lowered by better utilizing existing equipment during idle periods rather than having to pay for costly distribution system upgrades.
    • Simplifies the management of EV incentive programs and helps scale the program over time.

Ready to Sign Up?

Create your free, online DrivEV Smart Charging Rewards account and set up your vehicle’s charging schedule to receive your $50 sign-up bonus and monthly incentives.

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Rebates for EV Chargers

Your cooperative offers rebates for Level II chargers up to 50% of total equipment and electric service installation costs up to $1,000 when you participate in DrivEV Smart Charging Rewards. Find EV charger rebate details here.

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