Baltimore Gas and Electric Company has launched the nation's first residential vehicle-to-grid pilot project, partnering with Sunrun and Ford. The initiative allows electric vehicle owners to send power back to the grid during peak evening hours, easing strain and potentially lowering costs. This technology treats EVs as mobile batteries to support renewable energy integration.
The pilot project, activated last month in Maryland, marks a shift from one-way power flow to active grid participation. Baltimore Gas and Electric Company collaborated with Sunrun, a provider of home solar and batteries, and Ford, maker of the electric F-150 Lightning, to enable bidirectional charging known as vehicle-to-grid or V2G technology.
"This is the first time there are actual customers who are off-boarding power from their electric vehicles to the grid, and we’re doing it at peak times in the evening," said Chris Rauscher, vice president of grid services at Sunrun. "So we’re actually reducing the stress and the demand on the grid — crushing the curve, crushing the peak — which helps lower costs for everyone."
EVs function like large batteries on wheels; the F-150 Lightning's battery is 10 times bigger than a typical residential pack. Rauscher noted that more energy capacity exists in U.S. EV batteries on roads than in all stationary batteries combined. For context, the Natural Resources Defense Council estimates that V2G with California's projected 14 million EVs by 2035 could power every home in the state for three days.
Owners can power their homes during high-demand evenings, using just 5 to 6 miles of range per hour, effectively removing the house from the grid. "It basically makes the house disappear, effectively, from the grid," said Ryan O’Gorman, Ford’s business lead for vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-home. Charging can occur during off-peak times, like daytime with abundant solar power.
The program follows larger-scale tests, such as electric school buses in Oakland, California, with Pacific Gas & Electric, and Caltrain's regenerative braking, which cuts annual power costs from $19.5 million to $16.5 million. Experts see commercial fleets as more predictable for V2G due to schedules, though residential adoption is growing. Utilities must address customer experience, including compensation models similar to net metering.
"We’re still in a bit of an early stage here," said Divesh Gupta, director of clean energy solutions at Baltimore Gas and Electric Company. "There are a lot of things that need to be worked out, particularly on the customer-experience side."
Challenges include ensuring vehicles remain charged for drivers' needs, but even partial participation could diversify energy storage and reduce reliance on costly stationary batteries. Cars are parked over 22 hours daily, turning idle time into an asset for grid resilience amid rising demands from heat waves and data centers.