Today, iovation performsmore than 3 million daily fraud checks for its customers and helps stop over11,000 fraudulent activities every 24 hours. For more information on iovationand the company's products, visit Media:iovation Inc.Scott Olson, Copyright Business Wire 2009. Grid Friendly Battery Technology Saves Money, Protects against OutagesRICHLAND, Wash.--(Business Wire)--Electric vehicle owners can plug in their cars and forget about them, knowingthey'll get the cheapest electricity available and won't crash the grid - usinga new technology called the Smart Charger Controller. Developed at theDepartment of Energy`s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the controllerautomatically recharges electric vehicles during times of least cost to theconsumer and lower demand for power. Widespread use of these devices could helpadvance a smart power grid. Electric vehicles will ultimately reduce the nation`s dependency on oil.

Whilethe new vehicles will serve as an additional source of power demand, they alsocould contribute to an even "smarter" grid if equipped with controllertechnology. "If a million owners plug in their vehicles to recharge after work, it couldcause a major strain on the grid," said PNNL engineer Michael Kintner-Meyer."The Smart Charger Controller could prevent those peaks in demand from plug-invehicles and enable our existing grid to be used more evenly." That efficiency translates to a more stable grid and cheaper power. "Using the device could save up to $100-$150 a year for electric vehicle ownerswho pay based on when they charge their vehicle," Kintner-Meyer said. How it WorksElectric vehicles will become widely available starting in 2011.

The currentAdministration supports a goal of one million electric vehicles on the road by2015. A previous PNNL study showed that America`s existing power grid could meetthe needs of about 70 percent of all U.S. light-duty vehicles if batterycharging was managed to avoid new peaks in electricity demand The Smart Charger Controller does just that. Owners program the controller tocharge at a specific time of day or night or at a set price point. Thecontroller uses a low-range wireless technology to communicate with the powergrid and determine the best and cheapest time to recharge vehicles. By chargingvehicles during off-peak times, the controller saves consumers money. Previous PNNL studies with household appliances show that "smart" technologiesalso save the grid from brown-outs with little impact to the consumer.

GridFriendly technology inside the Smart Charger Controller senses stress conditionson the grid. When the grid says more power is needed, the controller cantemporarily stop charging the vehicle until the stress subsides. This instant reduction in charging load, multiplied on a large scale with manyvehicles, could serve as a shock absorber for the grid. The technology wouldrelieve load instantly and give grid operators time to bring new powergeneration sources on line to stabilize the grid - a process that usually takesseveral minutes.