Seattle – October 01, 2026 -- Electric Era's energy management system correctly predicted all five of PJM's 2026 coincident peak (5CP) events, saving the company's EV fast-charging customers tens of thousands of dollars in capacity charges. The Seattle-based operator runs three fast-charging stations within PJM's grid territory, where utility tariffs retroactively set a site's annual capacity costs based on load during the five highest system-wide demand hours of the summer.
Electric Era's EMS forecast all five 2026 PJM peak events with 97% confidence
PJM gives grid operators no advance notice of its 5CP events, which occurred this year on July 1, July 2, July 15, July 16, and September 1, each between 5-6pm EDT. Electric Era's battery-backed system predicted the timing of all five events with 97% confidence, preconditioned onsite batteries ahead of each window, and dynamically throttled the station's grid draw during the critical hours.
One station cut grid draw to 9 kW while delivering 72 kW to vehicles
At one site, the station delivered an average of 72 kW to EVs during the five peak windows while pulling only 9 kW from the grid. Against a Peak Load Contribution (PLC) capacity rate of $16.28 per kW per month, the 63 kW reduction in PLC is projected to save roughly $12,000 annualized at that location. Electric Era noted that an uncontrolled demand spike during any of those hours could have multiplied the resulting capacity surcharge.
Coincident peak charges are expanding as grid operators manage rising demand
Grid operators including PJM and ERCOT use coincident peak charges to allocate system-wide peak demand costs across users, a mechanism Electric Era expects to proliferate as electricity demand strains grid capacity. "Demand charges and capacity charges single-handedly put an EV charging station's P&L underwater," said Quincy Lee, CEO and Founder of Electric Era, adding that predictive software capability aims to keep charging sites profitable despite these tariff structures.
The 5CP prediction capability was built earlier this year as an extension of Electric Era's existing battery-and-software architecture, which manages power sourcing from the grid and onsite storage before distribution to vehicles.