eLab Accelerator 2017
EVs & The Grid
Project Objective
The team’s objective is to collaboratively develop a new public EV charging rate that could be implemented or piloted after this Accelerator is complete, based on the data provided by team members regarding charging behavior, site host characteristics, and grid needs.
Team Members
- Anne Smart, Vice President of Public Policy, ChargePoint
- Claire Dooley, Product Strategy and Market Development Manager, EVgo
- Kent Leacock, Director of Government Relations, Proterra
- Bill Boyce, Manager of Electric Transportation, SMUD
- Francesca Wahl, Senior Associate, Business Development and Policy EV Infrastructure, Tesla
- Eric Borden, Energy Policy Analyst, TURN
- David Sawaya, Electrification and Alternative Fuels Strategy Principal, PG&E
Project Description
This project will focus on collaboration between fast charging station companies and utilities to design a new electricity rate that supports electric vehicle (EV) fast chargers, electric bus chargers, and high speed charging stations. ChargePoint, EVgo, and Tesla are the leading EV fast charging station companies. Proterra is the leading manufacturer of electric buses and electric bus charging systems. These organizations are all developing extensive networks of fast chargers that require significant power for short periods of time.
The site hosts for these charging stations are currently facing high demand charges and rate structures that are not designed to support this function. PG&E, an innovative investor owned utility in California, and SMUD, an innovative municipal utility in California, will collaborate with these fast charging systems companies to explore new utility solutions that are "fast charger friendly" by reviewing charging behavior, site host characteristics, and grid needs. TURN, a California ratepayer advocacy group, will contribute to the team by ensuring that the project outcome is consistent with their mission to provide all consumers with access to clean, affordable, and dependable utility services.
Progress Made to Date (pre-Accelerator)
The team received final award notification in February 2017 and team members have begun collecting data to be used during the Accelerator. Key recent milestones include: ChargePoint, EVgo, Tesla, and Proterra have conducted stakeholder meetings to align industry needs for public EV charging tariffs RMI completed an analysis in March 2017 of EVgo’s public EV fast charging station profiles and available tariffs in California