EV Power Pulse Issue #4

Current EVents

EV Industry Updates

Duke Energy to pilot EV charging subscription service in North Carolina

Utility providers have been searching for effective solutions to prepare the grid for increased EV adoption, and the at-home charging needs to follow. Duke Energy, in partnership with General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and BMW of North America, may have found the perfect solution.

The utility provider recently announced a pilot program in North Carolina to simplify at-home EV charging costs and enhance convenience for residents. Their 12-month EV Complete Home Charging Plan offers fixed monthly fees of $19.99 or $24.99, depending on the service area, allowing up to 800 kWh of monthly charging. Most EV drivers use much less than 800 kWh, so the cost certainty provided by this program is sure to appeal to many EV drivers.

Duke Energy is collaborating with the automakers via the Open Vehicle Grid Integration Platform (OVGIP) for streamlined management of this process. By communicating through the OVGIP, each automaker’s unique app will allow users to customize their charging preferences based on their desired time and state of charge.

Residents who own or lease qualified EVs can expect to receive invitations to join the pilot in September, with the program kicking off on November 1.

This initiative could be the start of a new at-home EV charging standard. As Gabe Klein, Executive Director of the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, noted recently, “This is exactly the type of experimentation towards integrated solutions to reduce friction for customers we need.”

This flat fee residential charging subscription pilot simplifies EV charging costs, improves convenience, and supports grid management—all important hurdles to clear for increased EV adoption. Utility providers around the country will be watching this pilot, and are likely already preparing to launch similar programs.

–Steve

Power and Policy

NEVI Awards Roundup

The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program is in full swing, with five states having announced recipients of their grant money. With eight more state NEVI application deadlines either recently passed or right around the corner, now is the time to drill into the first wave of NEVI funding.

Hawaii, Ohio, Maine, Colorado, and Pennsylvania were the first five states to dole out NEVI funds. The scale of investment differs fairly widely by state. After we run through what each has done so far, we’ll take a look at some of the emerging trends coming out of these early stages.

Hawaii: The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) was the first mover of the states, revealing that Tritium will provide NEVI-funded chargers for the first round of funding. HDOT plans to acquire eight Tritium NEVI systems, each with 32 fast chargers carrying a capacity of 150 kW. These chargers will be installed on Oahu and Maui by the end of 2023.

Ohio: Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced over $18 million in NEVI funds for 27 electric vehicle fast charging stations along seven interstate corridors. EVgo was chosen as the provider for 20 of these sites, with other companies like ChargePoint, SKSignet, and Tritium also being selected.

Colorado: The Colorado Energy Office awarded $17 million for 36 charging sites through its Direct-Current Fast-Charging (DCFC) Plazas program. Tesla secured 10 of the 36 sites, with more funding rounds expected in the future.

Pennsylvania: PennDOT conditionally allocated $33.8 million for 54 NEVI charging projects, with Tesla and Sheetz among the awardees.

Maine: The Maine Department of Transportation, Recharge Maine, and Efficiency Maine announced over $6 million in NEVI funding across seven sites, with additional sites receiving funding through the Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan (MJRP) grant program.

Although the scope of investment varies, we want to highlight a few trends worth noting as the remaining states distribute their funds:

• Tesla, unsurprisingly, won a good portion of the bids so far with 22, followed by Pilot Travel Center with 19.

• Around 66% of the winning bids will be hosted by gas stations and travel centers.

• $618,671 is the average amount of funding requested by bidders.

Tesla’s success is particularly noteworthy as states like Kentucky and Texas take steps toward their first rounds of NEVI awards. Both states recently established Tesla charging plugs as their state-mandated standard, a trend that continues to push Tesla’s NACS plug toward ubiquity in US charging stations.

Delaware, Oklahoma, Virginia, Utah, Kansas, Texas, Tennessee, and Georgia have active solicitations for NEVI bid submissions, while Kentucky’s deadline passed on August 24th.

–Rob

EV Workforce Insights

The EV charging workforce of the future is being built today, and few parties have more direct influence over its direction than the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). Just over a year ago, the IBEW’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP) was chosen by the Department of Transportation as the national certification standard for training the EV charging workforce.

The EVITP was developed over the last decade, and its selection comes as no surprise. From the beginning, the IBEW has played a central role in the execution of the Biden Administration’s EV charging infrastructure goals. Under the current rules, any wireman who installs, maintains, and operates EV charging stations must be certified under the EVITP.

This program represents a step in the right direction to ensure the consistent reliability of these stations as they’re installed around the country. It also gives the IBEW an opportunity to provide good jobs for their membership over the coming years.

However, Steve and I believe that more is needed to establish both a strong and enduring workforce of EV charging electricians. To fix the perception that the US’s EV charging network is unreliable and unpredictable, maintenance must become a foundational and equally resourced piece of the workforce training puzzle.

J.D. Power’s recent EV charging satisfaction survey found that 20% of EV drivers have at least once arrived at and departed a charging station without a charge. Installing more stations without equal consideration for maintenance support leaves EV drivers stuck in the same situation but with more broken plugs to sift through. In our previous issue, Steve and I offered our solution – the creation of state and regionally-based Centers of Excellence for EV maintenance workers.

We believe maintenance must be a core focus of the training moving forward.

–Rob and Steve

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Until next time, stay charged!
- Steve and Rob