Nissan Electric Cars May Soon Power Homes

Nissan Motor Co. (OTC:

) said Tuesday it has developed a system to supply electricity to homes from batteries installed in its Leaf electric vehicle, allowing the car to serve as a power backup in emergencies. The automaker plans to market the system, called the Power Control System, by the end of next March, though no price was announced. The system works by allowing the electricity stored in the car's lithium-ion batteries to be supplied to a house by connecting the car to the home's electricity distribution panel using a connector linked to the Leaf's quick-charge port. The lithium-ion batteries are capable of storing about 24 kwh, sufficient to power an average household for about two days, according to Nissan.