Smart charger rolling out as part of electric vehicle test.

San Diego Gas & Electric said Aug. 5 it will test and evaluate Plug Smart, a mobile smart charging device for plug-in electric vehicles developed by Ohio-based Juice Technologies.

It's part of a larger initiative, funded in part by a $100 million U.S. Energy Department grant that will test 5,000 electric vehicles in five cities.

SDG&E, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy, is developing technologies for the intelligent charger, which could allow customers to charge their vehicle anywhere in the utility's service territory and charge the usage to their SDG&E account.

"Mobile smart-charging communication devices, such as Plug Smart, ultimately will allow customers to charge their electric vehicles and track their energy usage and carbon footprint through the Web or a cellular phone, when used in conjunction with a utility smart meter," said Hal D. Snyder, a utility executive.

The announcement comes in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy awarding Electric Transportation Engineering Corp. a $99.8 million grant to deploy up to 5,000 electric vehicles and install public and private charging systems in San Diego and four other markets. ETec, a subsidiary of Arizona-based ECOtality, is partnering with Nissan North America for the project, billed as the largest transportation electrification project in U.S. history.

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