January 12, 2021
POMONA, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, January 12, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Last month, Kitu Systems completed the deployment of 190 networked Electric Vehicle (EV) chargers for Fairplex, in Pomona, CA. The chargers are installed at three campus locations: The Sheraton Fairplex Hotel, The Finish Line Sports Bar & Grill, and the Main Parking Lot. This deployment is the largest project of Southern California Edison’s (SCE’s) Charge Ready Program.
Through their Charge Ready Program, SCE installs and maintains the electrical infrastructure to support EV charging and provides rebates to reduce charging station costs. Program participants such as Fairplex typically own, operate and maintain qualified charging stations. Qualified charging stations and vendors must meet technical and operational requirements laid out by SCE, such as the ability to collect charging data and to participate in Demand Response (DR) events.
In addition to providing and installing the charging and network equipment, Kitu will provide ongoing network, operation and management services via Kitu’s Convoy™ EV charge management service platform. Kitu Convoy allows Fairplex to monitor site utilization, manage access to the chargers, set and collect fees from drivers when applicable. Completing this turnkey EV charging infrastructure solution, Kitu will collect and monetize Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) credits and share the proceeds with Fairplex, further offsetting the costs of operation.
“It’s been a long journey from the initial decision to the completion of the project,” said Walter Marquez, Interim CEO of Fairplex, “one made even more difficult with the COVID 19 pandemic. Kitu has partnered with us every step of the way, demonstrating understanding, flexibility, and professionalism to complete the deployment on schedule.”
“We congratulate Fairplex on their Charge Ready project,” said Vincent Weyl, VP of Marketing and manager of the EV Service business at Kitu Systems. “We will continue to partner with them to provide guests and visitors an easy and reliable charging experience for the years to come.”
The Convoy EV charge management solution is powered by Kitu’s Azimuth™ software platform for Distributed Energy Resource (DER) interconnection. Azimuth enables coordination at scale between utility grid management systems, third party service providers and DERs such as EVs, EV chargers, solar generation and battery storage systems.
“There will be tens of millions of DERs entering the landscape very soon, including electric vehicles ranging from personal cars to heavy duty vehicles. The need to seamlessly monitor and coordinate these DERs in order to ensure grid reliability and resilience as well as providing end customers the best possible experience is paramount,” added Rick Kornfeld, CEO of Kitu Systems. “The Fairplex project demonstrates how Kitu can work closely with utilities and end customers across the U.S. to deploy standard-based EV charging solutions that are cost effective, secure, and reliable.”
About Fairplex
Fairplex is a nonprofit, 501(c)5 organization that leads a 487-acre campus proudly located in the City of Pomona. Fairplex exists in a public-private partnership with the County of Los Angeles and is home of the LA County Fair and more than 500 year-round events.