EV owners in New York City and Westchester County can earn gift card rewards by participating in a new Con Edison program. The utility has partnered with charging specialist FleetCarma to offer a program called SmartCharge New York that will pay EV owners to charge their vehicles at off-peak times.

The program is open to all EV owners, both residential and fleet, that charge in the Con Edison service territory. Each participant will get a cellular-enabled device that plugs into the vehicle’s on-board diagnostic port and collects charging and driving data. Drivers will be able to see their information via an online portal.

Participants will earn $50 in SmartCharge Rewards on enrollment, then $5 each month, plus 5 cents for each kilowatt-hour of charging during off-peak hours (midnight to 8am).

In addition to smoothing out electrical demand, Con Edison hopes to gather insights on how the growing number of EVs will impact its grid.

“We expect the number of electric vehicles to increase the next few years as drivers realize the economic and environmental benefits,” said Con Edison VP Matthew Ketschke. “We see EVs as another technology that is helping us build a cleaner, more efficient energy future.”

Source: Con Edison