Electric vehicles are already saving drivers money at the gas pump. But if you own an electric truck, you could also earn up to $1,000 this fall just by plugging it in. Thanks to a new partnership in Maryland, some Ford F-150 Lightning owners are turning their trucks into mini power plants that help stabilize the grid — and get paid for it.
How the Program Works
Baltimore Gas and Electric, Sunrun (NASDAQ:RUN), and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) have teamed up to launch the nation's first residential vehicle-to-grid program, according to a BGE statement. Instead of just charging your truck from the grid, the technology allows the battery inside the F-150 Lightning to send power back when demand is high.
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Through Sunrun's Home Integration System, enrolled trucks automatically dispatch energy between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. on weekdays — a time when electricity use typically spikes. Participants are compensated based on how much energy they share, with payments capped at $1,000 for the summer-to-fall season, which ends in September.
"This demonstrates the critical role that vehicle batteries can play in powering the nation's grid," Sunrun CEO Mary Powell said in BGE's statement. "In addition to showing how electric vehicles can power homes and add electrons to the grid, this program also creates extra income opportunities for customers."
Why the Grid Needs Extra Power
Record-setting heat waves across the U.S. this summer pushed electricity demand to new highs. When usage spikes, utilities often have to rely on costly or polluting backup sources of energy. By tapping into the large batteries already sitting in driveways, utility services like BGE gain access to a cleaner, more flexible backup supply.
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"Vehicle-to-grid technology lets electric vehicles do more than just drive — they can actually help power our homes and communities," said Divesh Gupta, director of Clean Energy Solutions at BGE. He added that this approach makes the energy system "more reliable, more efficient, and even help[s] lower electricity costs for customers."
A First Step Toward the Future
The pilot program started last year as a vehicle-to-home initiative, allowing truck owners to run their households directly off their vehicle batteries during peak hours or outages. This year, it expanded to share power with the wider grid — a move experts say could help reshape America's energy system if adopted on a larger scale.
Ford also sees big potential. "Educating customers that their electric vehicles have the potential to save — and even earn — them money all while parked at home is a game-changer," Bill Crider, senior director of global charging and energy services at Ford Motor Company, said in the BGE's statement.
For early participants, the benefits are already clear. Baltimore resident Morgan Grove said he originally bought his F-150 Lightning to keep his home powered during outages. "Now, I can also earn money by sending energy directly to the grid," he told BGE.
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What This Means for Consumers
The current program is small — only a handful of customers are enrolled in Maryland. But its success could pave the way for larger rollouts across the country. Lawmakers in Maryland have already signaled strong support, with policies like the DRIVE Act encouraging utilities to adopt vehicle-to-grid programs.
If programs like this expand, electric truck and SUV owners could eventually see new opportunities to lower their bills — or even make money — by letting their vehicles do double duty.
For now, F-150 Lightning owners in Maryland are the first to test the concept. And with the chance to earn up to $1,000 for simply plugging in, they may not be the last.
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Image: Shutterstock
