SUCCESSFUL UTILITY EV PROGRAMS

Electric vehicle (EV) programs come in all types.  Most are spurred by state or local greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.  

A utility’s EV program may focus on educating EV drivers about the cost benefits of signing up for a time-of-use rate.  The benefits to the utility are found in the ability to integrate the cars into the grid in a smart way, by incentivizing drivers to charge when the grid isn’t under heavy use.  

These eight areas are key for any EV program to successfully grow EV adoption.

A municipality’s EV program may focus on providing more public charging to encourage residents to adopt cleaner-driving cars to help meet their own Climate Action Plan goals.  Or leading by example to convert their own fleet to electric and encouraging other businesses in their city to do the same.  

The most successful EV programs don’t look at these efforts in a vacuum.  Before any program is launched they look at the entire EV Program Ecosystem.  How each touch point will positively or negatively affect EV adoption in their region. How they might overlap, and how they can leverage other EV programs taking place in their region. 

Most importantly, those developing successful EV programs thoughtfully strategize how components of their own EV Program Ecosystem will roll into each other -- setting each phase up so that it can easily springboard into the next.  

How will the next regulatory or legislative decision affect your plans?  How can you take a complicated topic like electric rates and make it a benefit for an EV purchase instead of a deterrent?  When is the right time to roll out a fleet electrification program? 

Successful EV programs have the ultimate goal of creating a positive driver experience so they encourage their friends and family to go electric because the process was so convenient.