Electric Vehicle Infrastructure

Are time-of-use (TOU) rates good or bad for the electric grid? While TOU rates aim to reduce system-wide peaks, they can increase grid stress and costs under many current designs—especially with the rapid growth of #electricvehicles and #electrification. Here’s why: Residential TOU peak periods typically end around 7-9 pm (survey of 30 large utilities). Many EV owners start charging immediately after off-peak rates begin, but these periods are based on system-wide loads, not local distribution peaks. Now, picture a neighborhood with 10 homes on a shared transformer, where 5+ homes have EVs. With each EV drawing around 7 kW, the load can more than double each household's load. The result? Transformer failures are the first sign of strain. As electrification grows, the stress will extend to feeders, substations, and beyond. So, should we abandon TOU rates? Regulators favor them because they shift load off-peak, are low cost, and are backed by historical results. But the more compliance, the more severe the local #grid stress. Another challenge: shifting peak periods. As #renewables like #solar and #wind expand and grid-scale #batteries become common, peak times are moving. California’s "duck curve" shows demand now shifting to different parts of the day. We now need to encourage EV charging mid-day in solar-rich areas! Constantly re-educating consumers on changing peak/off-peak times is impractical. What’s the fix? OPTION 1: Move off-peak to midnight. Some utilities now start off-peak for EVs at midnight when household demand is low, reducing but not solving the surge problem. OPTION 2: Stagger TOU start times. Spreading start times across households could ease local strain but is complex and unpopular with regulators. OPTION 3: Adopt dynamic solutions. The best option for now is managed EV charging (until we get #V2G). Customers set a "ready by" time (e.g., morning), and utilities optimize charging based on battery status, grid conditions, and costs. This keeps costs low for both consumers and the grid and the consumer gets a full charge without any intervention. 3A: Whole house vs. EV specific rates? Different appliances have different characteristics, time-based value, and needs. I think it makes sense to treat EV pricing separately that the other appliances in the house, just like we do for solar rooftop. While dynamic solutions like managed charging are the future, a mix of pricing options is essential. No single approach will work for every customer or address the grid’s evolving needs. Your thoughts? P.S. I've included a link to a longer PLMA (@PLMAflm) discussion about electricity pricing that includes ideas from myself and Ahmad Faruqui. #energy #utilities #gridmanagement #TOU #EVcharging #tesla #rivian #electricvehicles

After years of outsourcing, brands are taking direct ownership of the EV charging experience. We see many signs of maturation in the US charging industry. Improving reliability. Less reliance on public funding. Increased experimentation with promotions and pricing. More exacting site selection. All show that charging companies are ready to improve and compete. But one of the most significant indicators of maturity hasn’t received as much attention: the subtle transition from site host to CPO. Take Wawa, Inc. and Tesla Charging. On the ground, a Tesla-owned Supercharger at a Wawa store looks much the same as the first one that Wawa owns, found at its store in Alachua, FL. White posts, plenty of stalls, plug in and start charging (or use the automaker app, for some non-Tesla EVs). But those posts display Wawa’s red goose logo, rather than the red text of Tesla. Pricing is set by Wawa and features no discounted rates for Tesla owners or members. Drivers on free Tesla Supercharging promotions will pay the same as everyone else, here. No congestion fees apply here, vs. the Tesla-owned location in downtown Alachua. Once we dig into the details, we see Wawa using the foundation of Tesla Charging to deploy reliable hardware, but taking greater control of the customer experience. And this is happening across the charging sector: Pilot Flying J with EVgo eXtend. Costco Wholesale and Sheetz with Electrify America Commercial. Francis Energy, LLC upgrading sites under the Supercharger for Business program, which is also attracting regional entrepreneurs like Suncoast Charging. This is really just the start of a shift I expect to see much more of throughout 2026 and beyond. As the EV sector prepares for a more mature business model that serves mainstream drivers, rather than early adopters and EV enthusiasts, owning the charging experience is essential. For businesses that see EV charging as more than a tertiary service, operating merely as a site host cedes too much control. The contrast between these two phases is most visible at other major brands, like Love's Travel Stops and Walmart. Both of these have hosted chargers across the US for almost a decade, but their newer sites look nothing like the early days. In each case, dispensers are wrapped in the brand’s colors. Love’s deploys a fully-branded canopy to protect its customers and charging hardware. Walmart channels users into its own app and offers a charging discount for Walmart+ members. These are the first steps on a path to differentiation. Making the act of charging a more streamlined, unique experience that aligns with the business offers. Once this shift moves beyond the physical look and feel of the station, into the digital side of the experience, we’ll really start to see the kind of personalization and integrated, data-driven marketing that I predicted at the start of the year. Who do you want to see take greater control of the charging experience they offer this year?

EV Demand Management Aggregation Is Commercializing There are four pathways for exploiting the massive battery capacity that's usually sitting idle in electric cars. Some have a lot more potential than others. Full article with graph of scenario: https://lnkd.in/gmrcUDyE Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G): Using EV batteries to supply power back to the grid during peak demand. While conceptually promising, V2G faces critical challenges. Cars are typically plugged in during peak demand, making them contributors to the problem, not the solution. People are hesitant to let utilities use their batteries due to concerns about battery degradation and insufficient compensation. Kahneman's prospect theory is informative. Vehicle-to-Home and Task Power: EV batteries used as backup power for homes or tools at work sites. This approach has niche applications, primarily in markets like the U.S. and Australia, where detached homes with private driveways or small off-grid work sites are common. This is impractical for the majority of the global population, who live in multi-unit buildings with shared parking. For work sites, EV batteries are useful for small tasks but are quickly being overshadowed by large scale electrification. Automatic Demand Management in Buildings: This pathway is already gaining traction in parking lots for fleets, offices, malls, commercial buildings, and multi-unit residences. Operators face significant demand charges for electricity use during peak hours. Automatic systems dynamically pause or reduce EV charging when demand is high, saving costs and reducing grid strain. This is becoming a standard feature as EV adoption accelerates. Aggregated Demand Management: Aggregating EVs in a grid area to form large demand reduction blocks offers utilities a powerful tool for grid management. Companies like BluWave-ai are delivering this today, and utilities in Europe are signing up EV owners for it. Automatic demand management in buildings and aggregated systems for utilities are shaping up to be the dominant strategies. As I predicted four years ago, these approaches align incentives and overcome key barriers to scale. V2G and V2H, while dominant in the popular press and a lot of literature, will be also rans. If you’re an EV driver in Ontario or Prince Edward Island, consider signing up with BluWave-ai in their current round of driver onboarding.

There’s a graveyard full of “perfect” EV charging sites that will never get built. And it’s not because of lack of power capacity or funding. It’s because of design and parking lot constraints. Here’s how deals actually die: 1) You find a site. Great utilization potential. Reasonable demand charges. Power’s there. The landlord’s excited. You’re three months into negotiations. Then your engineering team realizes the existing stalls are only 16 feet long. The ADA stalls need to be at least 20 feet long and there is no room to cut into the curb. ❌ Deal’s dead unless you relocate the stalls elsewhere. 2) Boundary line and easement issues: Perfect grassy area for chargers. Except it’s a couple of feet outside the property line. Nobody caught it until the lease agreement was signed. ❌ Deal’s dead. 3) The line of sight issues: Site host: “Don’t block our shopping center sign. Keep chargers on the perimeter.” City: “ADA stalls must be closest to the building.” Site host: “Wait, that blocks our storefront visibility.” ❌ Dead. 4)Building code issues: Your layout causes a net loss of six stalls. That puts the property below minimum parking requirements. ❌ Dead. 5) Support equipment location and trenching length: “Just put it in back!” “Sure, we’ll just trench through 40,000 sq ft of asphalt.” “How much?” “More than your entire project budget.” ❌ Dead. There are many other examples we’ve seen. These are just the common ones. Here’s what nobody tells you about EV infrastructure: The process of installing chargers is a complex one. It almost feels like a three way fight between what the city or the AHJ demands, what the property owner wants, and what actually makes money for the CPO. There has to be alignment among all three parties or the site will not get built. We’ve seen companies burn millions learning this. They sign a lease, spend months going back and forth on design changes, then discover there’s a utility easement right where the chargers need to go. That’s why we built EVpin. We flag most of this on day one, not month six. And this alone saves you a ton of headaches and millions in the long run. To every CPO out there fighting these battles: We totally get it. You’re solving a 3D puzzle where the pieces keep changing. We can help solve that puzzle. DM me if this resonates with you and you want to learn more.

Peak demand is the most expensive problem in electricity. A 15-minute DC fast charge can create a demand spike exceeding 1 MW per vehicle, requiring oversized transformers and stranded distribution assets. These short-duration, high-amplitude peaks lower asset utilization and force utilities into costly overbuilds. The spike isn't the only part of the issue. We also have to consider the human behavior behind fast charging. When people fast charge, it’s usually because they’re in the middle of a trip or scrambling to recover from forgetting to plug in. In those moments, they’re inflexible. They need energy right now. That urgency means utilities can’t shift the load. At home, the opposite is true. Whether your car fills at 9 p.m. or 11 p.m. doesn’t matter... as long as it’s ready by morning. That flexibility is gold for utilities. It allows charging to be spread out, shifted to off-peak hours, and harmonized with other loads. That’s why a distributed, low-power Level 2 model produces a long-dwell, low-amplitude load curve. The aggregate effect is a flatter, more predictable demand profile: - Loads are shifted into overnight off-peak periods - Transformer capacity is preserved by spreading kWh delivery over time - Distribution utilization improves, increasing ROI on existing assets When deployed in multifamily properties (dense clusters of vehicles colocated near commercial load centers), this model supports local grid balancing without requiring new generation. The outcome is a rare alignment: Utilities reduce capital costs, property owners provide charging at scale, and EV drivers gain convenience. This isn’t about “slow vs. fast charging.” It’s about aligning charging profiles with utility economic models. #EnergyManagement #UtilityEconomics #EVInfrastructure

Picture the day when every electric vehicle (EV) charging station is perfectly placed, humming with activity, and turning a profit.This is the future we’re building toward with models for financial underwriting and capital allocation. Investors are moving beyond broad averages, diving into granular, site-specific data. Instead of a one-size-fits-all utilization rate, we’re talking about modeling each site based on real-world factors like nearby EV population and traffic patterns. This shift is more than just a trend; it’s a game-changer that’s already boosting ROI by 10-20% for those using AI-driven forecasts and hyper-local site selection. And let's talk about scenario analysis. We know the EV landscape is full of uncertainties: adoption rates, tech changes, energy prices. By running multiple scenarios, investors can pinpoint breakeven timelines and adapt to policy shifts or market changes. It’s about understanding the sensitivity of profitability drivers like utilization rates and pricing strategies. A McKinsey study showed that a small bump in utilization or pricing could turn a loss-making station into a breakeven one. Public incentives are another piece of the puzzle. Government programs and tax credits can significantly enhance project returns. Imagine blending these incentives into your financing plan—suddenly, the numbers look a lot more attractive. Partnerships with infrastructure funds and REITs are also on the rise, spreading risk and tapping into lower capital costs. Finally, we’re not just looking at individual sites anymore. It’s about the portfolio view. Using AI-driven tools to optimize site selection ensures maximum return on investment. This comprehensive approach—focusing on granularity, scenario planning, and strategic partnerships—guides us in deploying capital wisely.

Too many EV charging contracts are written for the supplier, not the site owner. That’s the part no one tells you. A shiny new charger on your site feels like progress. But what you’re actually signing up for is a 5–10 year business model. And there are three of them: 1. Free install, supplier-owned No upfront cost. No control either. You don’t set pricing. You don’t get usage data. You don’t even get a say in how it's maintained. 2. Revenue share, hybrid Better on paper - until you hit the platform limits. Locked-in pricing. Hardware you can’t upgrade. Commercial terms that don’t scale with your business. 3. Full ownership, full control More investment upfront. But full say over how you run it, who uses it, and how it evolves. It’s the only model that keeps you adaptable. We’ve seen clients forced to rip out chargers three years in. Not because the tech failed - but because the model did. EV infrastructure isn’t a hardware decision. It’s a strategy decision. And if you're not thinking about long-term control, you're not thinking far enough ahead.

Here is the playbook I use when someone says “design me a profitable EV charging site.” Start with the rulebook. NEVI sets the floor at 150 kW per port, four ports per site, 24 by 7 access, payment that works for everyone, and uptime above 97 percent. Design to exceed it with modular cabinets and room to scale. Pick sites where dwell time and traffic align. Highways need fast in and out, retail needs 20 to 45 minutes of spend time. Pair chargers with anchors that already win dwell time like groceries, cafes, gyms, hotels. Public studies show co location, traffic patterns, and community input drive utilization. Engineer for real cars not brochure peaks. Most vehicles live happily at 150 kW windows today while 800 to 1000 V platforms grow. Use 1000 V architecture, liquid cooled 500 A cables, dynamic load sharing. That keeps you NEVI compliant now and ready for higher power later. Profit is utilization times margin, and margin is what is left after energy price and demand charges. Lock in the tariff, pursue demand charge mitigation, add battery or smart dispatch where it pencils, and chase fleet and membership revenue to smooth peaks. NREL finds demand charges and retail rates are the biggest profitability swing factors. Make reliability your brand. Design in redundancy at the cabinet and dispenser, stock spares, set SLAs with field service, monitor OCPP 2.0.1, and enable Plug and Charge so sessions start first try. The standards push ISO 15118 and OCPP for exactly this reason. Reduce friction everywhere. Clear wayfinding, pull through for trailers, great lighting, cameras, snow and flood planning, ADA compliant spaces and routes, contactless pay that never hiccups. Accessibility guidance is now spelled out. Build it in from day one. Stack the revenue. Energy sales. Idle fees after a fair grace period. Retail uplift from dwell. Partnerships with delivery and ride hail fleets. Advertising where tasteful. Loyalty that turns occasional users into regulars. Evidence shows retailers gain longer dwell when charging is on site. Short list to copy paste into your SOW • Site fit: traffic, dwell, grid capacity, utility timeline • Power plan: 300 kW 2 by 150 or 600 kW 4 by 150 with growth path • Tariff: modeled energy cost and demand charges with mitigations • Hardware: 1000 V, 500 A, liquid cooled, modular, hot swap spares • Software: OCPP 2.0.1, ISO 15118 Plug and Charge, remote ops • CX: lighting, canopy, pull through, wayfinding, bathrooms, coffee • Compliance: NEVI, ADA routes and spaces, 24 by 7 access • Uptime: 97 percent plus, SLAs, on site parts, trained techs • Revenue mix: energy, idle fees, fleet contracts, retail uplift Get utilization right with the right site, crush soft costs with the right utility plan, and protect revenue with reliability and UX that earn repeat use. Do that and the math starts working in your favor. #EVCharging #DCFC #Reliability #SiteSelection #Fleet #OCPP #ISO15118 #EnergyRates

Our latest paper in iScience (led by Jingbo(Sarah) Wang, Harshal D. Kaushik, and Roshni Anna Jacob) introduces a three-phase framework for EV charging infrastructure planning: (1) demand forecasting with high-resolution mobility data, (2) grid-aware optimization to assess upgrade and subsidy needs, and (3) deployment strategies integrating power system constraints. By coupling transportation demand with electrical grid dynamics, this approach enables scalable, reliable, and cost-efficient EV charger deployment—a step toward resilient electrified transportation systems.

🔌 Fast-charging stations can benefit from connecting to a shared DC bus or DC microgrid. This approach enhances charging efficiency, reduces costs by eliminating power conversion stages, simplifies the integration of on-site renewable energy sources and energy storage systems, and enables the use of smaller cable sizes. A key challenge is the current absence of comprehensive standards for protection and metering for such shared DC buses. Additionally, safety considerations are vital, especially regarding galvanic isolation, with IEC 61851-23 requiring isolation for each output in multi-output DC fast charging stations operating simultaneously, which can raise implementation costs.   ⚡ Addressing reliability and fault tolerance in high-power DC charging environments is essential, resulting in different architectural configurations. The radial configuration, the simplest to implement, connects all EVs, renewable energy sources (RESs), and battery energy storage systems (BESSs) to a single DC bus. Its main drawback is that a fault on this bus would disconnect all charging stations, disrupting service. A variation, the radial configuration with a split DC bus, improves stability and resilience by connecting two rectifiers to the grid and splitting the charging station into two DC buses. Conversely, the ring configuration, as exemplified by the patented system, is designed to address service continuity issues during faults. It links the DC bus to the grid, BESSs, and RESs through at least two pathways, enabling faulty sectors to be detected and isolated while maintaining power to other sections. This design offers much higher reliability by ensuring a continuous power supply even when faults occur in one or more buses. To achieve this high level of resilience, very fast protection devices are crucial, probably based on solid-state technology, given that fault currents in DC systems can reach hundreds of amps within microseconds. #evcharging #ev #dc #lvdc #powerelectronics #gridmodernization #battery #energystorage #bess