Policy & Advocacy
Our work encompasses a wide range of critical initiatives, including:
Strategic design and regulatory support to achieve program approval and accelerate EV adoption. We have developed all aspects of EV charging incentive programs for multiple utilities. These programs are targeted at residential, multifamily, workplace, fleets, public DC fast charging, and V2G electric school buses. Our services begin at the program inception and continue through budgeting, program design, regulatory approval (including drafting the proposal and testifying as an expert witness), and operation.
Optimizing the grid and maximizing the value of EVs as Distributed Energy Resources. EV Advisors has filed comments in many public service commission dockets around the country on the subject of managed charging and the use of EVs as distributed energy resources. Examples of topics include communication between utilities and networked EVSE and EVs, rates designed to address the specific use cases of EVs, such as time-of-use, residential pricing for multifamily communities, the use of vehicle telematics, and other tools intended to use EVs as DERs to reduce demand on specific circuits and feeders.
Helping municipalities provide power and clean energy services to their residents. EV Advisors provides specialized support for municipalities implementing Community Choice Energy Aggregation. Our end-to-end involvement includes defining public policy objectives in collaboration with the community, developing a suitable framework for the aggregation, obtaining regulatory approvals, identifying and selecting suppliers and other energy service providers, developing a risk management plan, and ultimately implementing the plan and supporting the municipality when it becomes its residents’ new energy supplier.
Actively working with industry stakeholders to advocate for balanced and cost-effective enforcement. Enforcement of state weights and measures laws is expanding, while awareness in the industry lags. This is a serious threat to the continued operation of existing infrastructure and the economic and efficient deployment of future infrastructure. EV Advisors, in concert with the Alliance for Transportation Electrification, is actively working with charging industry stakeholders across the country to mitigate harm and advocate for reasonableness.
Maximize asset value and customer experience through a commitment to OCPP and OCPI. EV Advisors has long been a strong supporter of both OCPP and OCPI. OCPP facilitates communication between EVSE and the charging station management system, and adherence to OCPP by the EVSE and the CMS enables customers to mix and match hardware and to easily migrate from one back-end to another, providing operational flexibility and avoiding stranded assets. OCPI facilitates communication between charging networks, allowing capabilities such as seeing information about multiple networks in a single place and being able to use one app to authenticate and pay for a session on another network. OCPI will also open the door to widespread use of plug & charge. By advocating for the use of these protocols, EV Advisors promotes flexibility and cost savings.
Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) Electric School Buses: Bridging the gap between fleet electrification and utility-grade Distributed Energy Resources. A major U.S. electric utility operating company retained EV Advisors to design and implement multiple EV charging programs, including a Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) pilot designed to demonstrate the benefits of bidirectional power flows using electric school buses. EV Advisors developed the budget and proposal, drafted testimony, and Michael Krauthamer testified as an expert witness before the state’s Public Service Commission. The proposal was approved in its entirety. Critical factors contributing to our success included our deep understanding of the EV market, including costs for EV charging installations, the operations of EV chargers, utility ratemaking, and the costs associated with implementing similar programs.