​​​​​​You will receive your one-time bill credit of $25 for pilot enrollment within 1-2 bills following your enrollment (depending on your billing cycle). The monthly bill credits of $7.50 will be applied moving forward for all months where you actively participate. Note that there will be a one-month lag in payout for these monthly credits to allow Cobb EMC time to confirm active participation and apply the bill credit. 

​​​​​​There are charging options for the pilot: Do It Myself Charging and Do It For Me Charging. Members will be asked to review the details of each of these options and make a selection when they enroll. Note that some EVs may only be eligible for one of the charging options, depending on the vehicle’s connectivity capabilities. A summary is provided below, and eligibility will be further confirmed during the enrollment process.

​​​​​​No. Cobb EMC will be able to send the commands to stop/start charging without any additional equipment needed in your home. This is done through your electric vehicle’s on-board telematics. This data is accessed through your EV's manufacturer's telematics cloud and allows Cobb EMC access to various data like make/model, charge status, and battery capacity. You allow access to this data when you sign up for the pilot. 

​​​​​​The only time when you’d need to be mindful is if you are not home at the beginning of peak hours but return to your home while peak hours are still in effect. If this is the case, you would need to refrain from plugging in your EV until peak hours have passed. This is because with the Do It For Me Charging option, Cobb EMC sends commands to your EV to pause charging at the beginning of peak hours, and start charging again once peak hours are no longer in effect. However, if you are not home when Cobb EMC sends the pause charging command at the beginning of peak hours, your vehicle will miss the command. This means that if you plug in in the middle of peak hours, your car will charge as normal, and this will result in a strike in the pilot.  

​​​​After you enroll in the pilot and provide your vehicle information, Cobb EMC, through our pilot partner OATI, will collect charging information data from your vehicle. This information will be used to 1) ensure pilot participation, 2) study EV charging characteristics, and 3) help us plan for a more resilient grid both now and in the future.

The data that Cobb EMC and our pilot partner OATI collect as a part of this pilot is summarized in the table below:

It should be noted that the data collected is the same, regardless of which charging option you select. 

Your data is secure and will never be sold or used for any purposes other than what is stated above.

​​​​​Members can switch their charging option one time during the pilot. They may do so by emailing gogreen@cobbemc.com to initiate the switch.

​​​​On-peak hours are times of day when the demand for electricity is at its highest. During the summer months, on-peak hours are from 2 - 7 p.m., and during the winter, they are from 6-9 a.m. These hours are in effect every day, except for weekends and holidays. Members should avoid charging during these hours whenever possible. If you must charge during these hours, doing so will result in a “strike”. Two strikes per month are permitted, but a third strike would result in the forfeiture of the $7.50 monthly bill credit for active pilot participation.

​​​​​Summer months are April through October, and during these months, on-peak hours when charging should be avoided are 2 - 7 p.m. Winter months are November through March, and the on-peak hours to avoid are 6 - 9 a.m.

​​​​​Yes, members can enroll with more than one electric vehicle. Incentives will be paid per electric vehicle enrolled in the pilot. A member may have up to two electric vehicles enrolled in the incentive pilot per household. 

​​​​​Active participation involves opting out twice a month or less. Opting out would involve charging during the on-peak/off-limits hours (2 - 7 p.m. in the summer and 6 - 9 a.m. in the winter). In short, active participation is adhering to the desired charging behaviors, based on the season of the year. 

Active pilot participation is important to adhere to so that you can receive your monthly bill credit of $7.50.

​​​​​​If you move from one Cobb EMC home to another home also powered by Cobb EMC, you may continue your pilot participation at your new address, if the new home still meets our pilot eligibility requirements. Please be sure to mention this when you transfer service or email our pilot administrators directly at gogreen@cobbemc.com to ensure a smooth transition. If you move to a new home outside of Cobb EMC’s service area, your participation will discontinue when you move. The last bill credit you receive will be for the last full month you lived in your home. For example, if you move on January 3, 2026, your last bill credit would be for the month of December 2025, assuming you actively participated that month (less than two opt-outs). No credit would be given for the first three days in January.

​​​​​​Members who are not home during peak periods and not plugged in will be considered as exhibiting active pilot participation, as they would not be charging during the peak hours, the compliant charging behavior. However, if a member returns home in the middle of peak hours, they must refrain from charging to still be considered an active participant (adhering to the desired charging behavior). 

​​​​​For purposes of this incentive pilot, no it does not. You may use public charging however and whenever you wish.

​​​​​To opt out, simply override the settings and charge your car when you need to charge it during peak hours. This can be done through your EV’s mobile app, smart charger, or by simply unplugging and plugging the car back in. Note that currently, there is no way to opt-out ahead of an event. You must override and initiate charging during peak hours if you wish to opt out.

While we do not encourage this, you are permitted two opt outs a month before you lose your monthly bill credit.

​​​​​To opt out of the incentive pilot entirely, email gogreen@cobbemc.com. Note that the last bill credit you receive will be for the last full month you participated in the pilot. For example, if you opt out of the pilot on January 3, 2026, your last bill credit would be for the month of December 2025, assuming you actively participated that month (less than two opt-outs). No credit would be given for the first three days in January.

​​​​​Yes. A member can be removed from three reasons:

1. 1. If a member charges during three or more on-peak periods for two or more months in a row, the member will be removed from the pilot. No incentives will be paid for those months, or any months moving forward.
2. 2. Members can also be removed from the program if their car gets disconnected and they do not reconnect within 30 days of being notified by Cobb EMC. 
3. 3. Members can be removed if it is determined that they are not doing a majority of their EV charging at home. The best way to ensure you remain in the pilot is by actively participating each month.

​​​​​The purpose of the Smart Charging Incentive Pilot is to determine future programs and benefits for electric charging at home to encourage off-peak charging.  Typically, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles use less kilowatt hours (kWh) for charging compared to all-electric vehicles. To set an adequate baseline and identify programs that will maximize a shift from on-peak to off-peak charging, it is best to limit the pilot to all-electric vehicles. 

​​​​​Part of the success of the Smart Charging Incentive Pilot relies on evaluating the charging behaviors of different Cobb EMC members. Allowing more than two vehicles per household into the pilot, can limit the variety of charging behaviors evaluated and reduce the effectiveness of the incentive pilot. It’s important to get as many different members to participate in the pilot as possible.   

​​​​​​No. All communication for this pilot is achieved through your vehicle’s onboard telematics. Telematics does not rely on Wi-Fi, so the Wi-Fi signal in your garage would not pose an issue.

​​​​​​It depends. This pilot is designed for residential members who do most of their EV charging at home. If you are out of town for a 2-to-3-week vacation, this would likely not pose a problem. Cobb EMC may reach out to you if we notice a prolonged period of no charging, but this timeframe is acceptable. However, if you are out of town for several weeks or even months of the pilot, you would not be fully participating. If this is the case, this pilot is not a good fit for you.

​​​​​​Yes, your guests would be able to charge during peak hours and this would not result in a strike for you for the pilot. Since you enroll in the pilot with your vehicle, another vehicle charging during peak hours would not have an impact on your active pilot participation.

​​​​​​No, there is not a specific amount of charge that is required for you to participate. You do not have to charge at home every day. However, if Cobb EMC sees that you are not charging at home at all or only in very limited quantities, this pilot may not be a good fit for you, as it is designed for members who do most of their charging at home.

Yes, if you would like to participate in the pilot, you would need to have access to your EV telematics and allow Cobb EMC access through the enrollment process.

Yes, rooftop solar can be combined with the Smart Charging Incentive Pilot.

Starting and stopping your charging several times during the same peak period would result in one strike. Only one strike will be given per day or peak period.