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The Energy Blog ​The Electrified Road Ahead

Sweden has opened a 2km stretch of electrified public road, allowing vehicles to charge as they drive.

In recent years households and businesses have turned to electric vehicles (EVs) to reduce running costs and lower their impact on the environment by cutting carbon emissions. The falling price of EVs - alongside lighter energy cells and improved battery technology - have made them an increasingly popular choice, with many leading manufacturers now producing both hybrid and fully electric vehicles.

One of the most frequently cited problems with EVs is the process of charging them. Despite the presence of charging facilities in public car parks, topping up an EV is time-consuming and potentially inconvenient compared with filling a tank with petrol. For drivers who don't have off-street parking at home, the logistics can understandably be off-putting. And for businesses - particularly those in the transport indusrty - incorporating charging times into operations is an added complication.

Electrified road

Addressing such issues, Sweden has electrified stretches of road on a high-traffic shipping route. The intention is to increase the number of electric heavy goods vehicles in use and continue the country's move away from using fossil fuels for transportation. This pilot project will test the benefits of installing the new road infrastructure more widely.

Demonstration video by eRoadArlanda showing how the electrified road works.

The route runs between Stockholm Arlanda Airport and a nearby shipping hub. Electrified rails have been fitted into the road surface: vehicles drive over them and recharge through a receiver. The system monitors the vehicles, tracking the energy used and enabling the operator to bill for the electricity consumed.

The hope is that this scheme will prompt the use of new goods vehicles with smaller batteries, helping to make the transition to electric more cost effective for companies. If the pilot proves to be a success, more high-traffic routes will be created across Sweden and beyond at a current estimated cost of €1,000 per kilometre.

If the system is universally standardised and adopted, the wider implications could see both new and retro-fitted electric vehicles - including cars and buses - having a receiver to recharge over stretches of electrified road within the existing road network. This could enable a further reduction in the production costs of new cars with smaller batteries, and reduce the need to stop and recharge on longer journeys.

Your Customer Number

Your 5 character Customer Number can be found in the top right and bottom left corners of your bill.

Example electricity bill with the customer number highlighted

Daily Service Charge

The Daily Service Charge covers energy support services such as metering, billing, Customer Care, safety obligations and other energy support services.

Off-peak

Off-peak means not at the most popular time. Some of our tariffs provide discounted rates at off-peak times - for example, during certain periods at night.

Off peak charging times

Our current off peak electric vehicles times are from 00:00 to 06:59.

Dedicated supply circuit

A dedicated supply circuit is an electrical circuit that is set aside for a specific purpose, such as powering a boiler. It will work with a single appliance only.

It will have its own circuit breaker in your fuse box, and no other device or appliance will be able to draw power from it. A dedicated supply circuit ensures that appliances can draw the current they need without overloading your system, blowing a fuse or tripping an electric circuit.

Invoice Number

This can be found on the top right corner of your bill here

Example electricity bill with invoice number

Premise Number

This can be found on the top right corner and bottom left corner of your bill.

Example electricity bill with premise number highlighted

Payment Slip

This can be found at the bottom of your bill here

Bill payment slip example

Peak Load

Peak load or peak demand is a short period when the demand for electricity is at its highest.

Kilowatt Hours

Electricity consumption is usually measured in kilowatt hours, or kWh for short. Each kWh of electricity equates to 'one unit of electricity' for billing purposes. A 1kW (1,000 Watts) appliance in use for one hour = 1kWh (one unit). The cost per unit used depends on which tariff you are on.

Three phase

Residential homes are usually served by a single-phase power supply, while commercial and industrial facilities usually use a three-phase supply.

One difference between single-phase and three-phase is that a three-phase power supply better accommodates higher loads. Single-phase power supplies are most commonly used when typical loads are lighting or heating, rather than large electric motors.

Another important difference between 3-phase power and single phase power is the consistency of power delivery. Because of the variations in voltage, single-phase power supply does not offer the same consistency as a three-phase power supply. A three-phase power supply delivers power at a steady, constant rate.

kVA

A kVA is simply 1,000 volt-amps. A volt-amp, or ampere, (VA) is the voltage times the current feeding an electrical load.

Embedded generator

Embedded generators like wind turbines and solar panels are connected to your electricity supply and provide electricity for onsite use. They also have the capability to export back to the grid.

Smart Card Number

Your Smart Card Number is the 19-digit number displayed below the barcode on your Smart Card.

The Smart Card Number also contains your six-digit Meter Number that is also displayed on your meter. You need this to top up a Smart Pay As You Go Meter whether at a Payzone outlet or online.

Example of Smart card for meter charging

Smart Card

A Smart Card contains your unique Smart Card Number used when topping up a Smart Pay As You Go Meter.

Example of a smart card for meter charging

F-Credit

F-credit is a Pay As You Go meter display and means Friendly Credit. It is the period between 9pm and 8am. If the credit on your meter runs out during this period, your supply will remain on until 8am.

Decarbonise

The process of reducing carbon by replacing fossil fuels with fuel that is less harmful to the environment such as low-carbon electricity.

Regenerative braking

With conventional braking systems, the kinetic energy that was propelling the vehicle forward gets converted to unwanted and wasted heat by the friction of the brakes.

Regenerative braking recaptures much of the car's kinetic energy and converts it into electricity, so that it can be used to recharge the car's batteries.

In addition to improving the efficiency of a vehicle, regeneration can significantly extend the life of the braking system, as the mechanical parts will not wear out as quickly.

Power factor

Power factor is the ratio of useful power in kilowatts (kW) to apparent power, measured in kilovolt amperes (kVA). A perfect power factor would be 1.0, however in reality this is almost impossible to achieve. Office buildings are usually between 0.98 and 0.92. Bad power factor is anything below 0.85.

Electric flow boiler

Electric flow boilers are simple to install, quiet in operation, 100% efficient and integrate into most existing radiator or underfloor piped systems. Plus, with no flue or storage tank, an electric boiler is a space-saving option that can be installed almost anywhere in your home.

Approved heating system

A heating system, approved by Jersey Electricity, on a dedicated supply for use on one of our discounted heating tariffs.

To learn more about what's required for an approved heating system, view our current approved heating guidelines.

20-digit payment code

The 20-digit payment code is issued with your receipt for a Pay As You Go (PAYG) meter top-up. If your meter did not charge automatically, you can do it manually with the payment code. Press button A on your meter then key in your 20-digit payment confirmation code on the meter keypad, then press button B. Your meter will recognise the amount paid and charge accordingly.

Single phase

Single-phase power supplies are most commonly used when typical loads are lighting or heating, as in a domestic home, rather than large electric motors and higher loads. Single-phase power is a two-wire alternating current (AC) power circuit.