GM wants your EV to help power the grid

GM’s bidirectional – General Motors is asking utilities, regulators and automakers for a “public-private collaboration” to let EV drivers send power back to the grid. With electricity demand rising as AI data centers expand, GM says it already has more than 250,000 bidirectional E

A plugged-in EV could soon do more than charge. General Motors is pushing for a system where the battery in the cars people drive at home helps utility companies manage spikes in electricity demand—at a time when Americans are already seeing rate increases and the US is facing historic levels of electricity consumption linked to the AI build-out.

In an open letter to utility executives and energy lawmakers on Tuesday. GM called for a “public-private collaboration” aimed at making it easier for EV drivers to send power back to the grid. The company said the group would need to work out the practical details—customer enrollment. incentives and rate structures—so participation isn’t just technically possible. but economically workable for households.

Kurt Kelty. GM’s vice president of battery and sustainability. framed the urgency with a blunt reminder of how fast demand is climbing. “The growth and consumption of electricity in the US has been at historic highs,” he told Business Insider. “We’ve never had such a high growth rate in electricity for probably a hundred years or so. That’s partly being driven by the AI data center growth.”.

The policy push lands on top of existing forecasts. The US Energy Information Administration said in January that it expects electricity use to rise 1% this year and 3% in 2027—describing the coming period as the strongest four-year stretch of demand growth since 2000. The agency said “demand from large computing centers” is behind much of the surge.

GM points to the math of what could come online from the data center build-out. A Business Insider analysis of US data center permits found that if all facilities permitted through 2025 came online. they could consume between 224.3 terawatt-hours and 358.8 terawatt-hours of electricity a year. At the midpoint. GM said that would be more than the total electricity use by any US state outside Texas in 2024.

To ease that pressure on the grid, GM is betting on bidirectional charging—technology that allows power to flow into and out of the EV. The company said it has more than 250,000 bidirectional EVs on US roads and is committed to building that capability across its entire EV portfolio.

GM also offered a sense of scale. With a quarter of a million EVs, the company said the capacity could amount to power for about 120,000 homes for up to one week—or all of San Francisco for one day.

Kelty described the customer experience as an electricity trading opportunity. A driver could come home from work, plug in, and let the EV discharge power during peak demand times, such as late afternoon or evening. Then the car could recharge later at night, when electricity is cheaper.

He added that the system wouldn’t be used constantly. Utility companies may only need the extra support 20 or 30 days out of the year. GM said. and the EV would not be fully discharged each time. “It’s not that much extra wear and tear on the battery. ” Kelty said. adding that the battery would still be covered under warranty as long as customers followed a GM-specific program.

What drivers would receive in return is still part of the negotiation. Kelty said whether customers see returns through credits, lower utility bills, or a cheaper EV at initial purchase is “all on the table.”

The idea is still early. GM said it is now testing “vehicle-to-grid” programs with utility agencies, including PG&E in northern California and DTE Energy in Michigan.

The concept isn’t brand-new in the market. Tesla has a similar idea with Powershare. which allows Cybertruck owners to use the truck’s battery to power a home and. in some regions. support the grid. But GM said its approach is broader in scope and not tied only to a single vehicle line; Kelty’s pitch emphasizes building bidirectional capability across its entire EV portfolio.

In the background of the technical discussion is a harder business reality: GM wants the grid partnership to help drive its own EV momentum. “The big thing we’re looking at is we want to sell more EVs,” Kelty said. He also linked the grid role to a wider goal: “We want to reduce fossil fuel consumption. That’s the direction we want to go.”.

For households, the promise is simple—turn a parked battery into grid support. For utilities and regulators. the question is whether the incentives. enrollment systems and rate design can be made to work in practice when demand pressure peaks. not in theory. GM’s push is asking everyone in that chain to move from pilot projects toward a coordinated rollout.

General Motors GM bidirectional charging vehicle-to-grid EV battery grid power electricity demand AI data centers utility rates PG&E DTE Energy Kurt Kelty Powershare Tesla Cybertruck