All-Electric Lifestyle: GM and PG&E Helping Turn Electric Vehicles Into True Energy Assets

This week, General Motors announced it is offering eligible GM electric vehicle owners the opportunity to enroll in phase one of the Northern California utility’s Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) pilot program. By enrolling, customers can receive up to $4,500 in incentives off the price of their GM Energy bidirectional home charging equipment. 

This pilot program is a glimpse into the future of energy resilience, efficiency, and sustainability — and GM Energy is working alongside leading utilities like PG&E to lead the conversation nationally. 

By unlocking bidirectional charging for Vehicle-to-Home applications, GM and PG&E are demonstrating that electric vehicles can be more than just a mode of transportation. The product experience and the value for customers does not end when a GM EV is parked. The value keeps going without the customer needing to interact with the vehicle at all. 

We call this the all-electric lifestyle.

Today, GM Energy’s 19.2 kW bidirectional PowerShift charger and V2H Bundle enable Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) functionality, allowing compatible GM EVs to provide backup power to properly equipped homes during outages. 

Using the learnings from the pilot, GM and PG&E can fine-tune the customer experience, ensuring bidirectional-capable vehicles can seamlessly integrate into the grid and be beneficial for overall grid resilience. 

While giving customers the ability to use their GM EV as a back-up home generator is an incredible, practical benefit to customers, it is just the beginning of what we can do to help encourage mass EV adoption with this technology. 

Looking ahead at the future, the PG&E collaboration can help set the stage for broader Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) applications — electric vehicle batteries sending power back to the grid during times of peak energy demand. 

Imagine thousands of EVs plugged in and ready to provide energy back to the grid when it’s needed most — during heat waves, storms, or other demand spikes. This virtual power plant (VPP) distributed energy resource can alleviate pressure on the grid, helping to mitigate power outages, enhance energy supply and potentially lower costs across the market.

With the right incentives and policies in place, programs like this one could accelerate the shift toward a more distributed energy model. As other states explore ways to meet renewable energy targets, Vehicle-to-Home, Vehicle-to-Grid and VPP technology offer a powerful solution that can help reduce strain on the grid, enhance the use of solar energy, and give consumers more control over their energy costs in the future.

The PG&E pilot is just the beginning. GM Energy is actively working with utilities and aggregators across the country to explore how EVs can enhance grid resilience, energy security, and ultimately EV adoption. As we continue to innovate and expand our bidirectional charging and energy management capabilities, we are laying the groundwork for a future where EVs are not just vehicles but vital components of a cleaner, more reliable energy system. 

The future of energy is decentralized, flexible, and powered by collaborations like this one. Through this pilot, GM and PG&E are showing that the promise of bidirectional and V2G technology is not a distant vision. 

It is happening right now. 

And as we scale these solutions, we are driving toward a world where our vehicles do more than take us from place to place. They help power the future. 

About the author

Aseem Kapur is chief revenue officer for GM Energy.