Electric vehicle (EV) adoption is increasing around the country, resulting in a new kind of electricity load from EV charging. Commissions are grappling with related challenges, including how to shift this new load to off-peak hours and whether and how utilities may be involved in offering EV charging to drivers. NARUC, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy, is working to explore these emerging topics with its members and experts.
NARUC CPI hosts an Electric Vehicles State Working Group, which is open to all NARUC members and holds monthly meetings on EV regulatory topics. For more information, or to join the working group, please contact Robert Bennett or Danielle Sass Byrnett.
National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program (NEVI) Brief for State Public Utility Commissions, February 2024
State Public Utility Commissions (PUCs) will play a critical role in NEVI as they oversee utility investments in this new national charging network, ideally ensuring that utilities deploy infrastructure and technology that is efficient, reliable, safe, and supports the scale and timeframe required to benefit consumers. This NEVI Brief provides essential information on NEVI along with considerations and potential roles for PUCs.
Essential Guide to NARUC Electric Vehicle Resources, July 2023
NARUC members are increasingly seeking more information about electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure needs, impacts, and the role of Public Utility Commissions (PUCs). This Essential Guide connects commissioners and staff to essential EV resources that the NARUC Center for Partnerships and Innovation (CPI) has developed.
Considering Interoperability for Electric Vehicle Charging: A Commission Case Study, Fall 2022
As adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) increases across the United States and charging equipment to power vehicles is installed, the electricity system, states, utilities, EV manufacturers, EV supply equipment (EVSE) manufacturers, and stakeholders are grappling with how to ensure smooth integration of these resources. Interoperability ensures that communication, coordination, and integration of devices, such as electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), are integrated efficiently and effectively.
Mini Guide on Transportation Electrification: State-Level Roles and Collaboration among Public Utility Commissions, State Energy Offices, and Departments of Transportation, Summer 2022
This mini guide describes the unique and vital roles State Energy Offices, Public Utility Commissions (PUCs), and Departments of Transportation (DOTs), as well as State Environmental Agencies, Consumer Advocates, and other important state-level partners each have to support the ambitious electric vehicle (EV) adoption goals in many states and implement EV rollout.
Models for Incorporating Equity in Transportation Electrification Considerations for Public Utility Regulators, Summer 2022
Momentum for the electric vehicle (EV) transition is well underway, and the utility sector plays an important role in supporting its success. For frontline communities, the transition offers a promising solution to improve environmental and public health outcomes, economic development, affordability, and transit equity. However, the transition will need to involve care and intention to ensure that the needs of underserved communities are prioritized throughout the planning, decision-making, and implementation processes. States — through Public Utility Commissions and other state agencies — have taken the lead in some cases, as describe in this paper. Whether driven by state commissions or utilities themselves, utilities have a range of options available to ensure equity is central in their transportation electrification plans and programs by drawing from a variety of existing and emerging experiences.
This issue brief provides an overview of the utility programs and business models that are intended to center equity and captures key considerations for state utility regulators around these models.
Electric Vehicle Interoperability Considerations for Public Utility Regulators, Summer 2022
Electric vehicles (EV) are an increasingly important component of many state and federal efforts to decarbonize both the electric and transportation systems. Although this growth will not be uniform across the country and some states will move faster than others, the need for charging infrastructure will be vital to the widespread adoption of EVs. As cars are driven across utility service territories and state borders, ensuring that EV owners can charge their vehicles reliably is critical. To enable widespread charging for customers and a consistent and reliable experience across vehicle manufacturers, charging station developers, and utility territories, it is essential to adopting industry standards that emphasize interoperability by all actors.
This issue brief provides an overview of EV interoperability benefits and opportunities, describes where in the charging ecosystem interoperability is relevant and what standards are available, and includes a snapshot of recent state public utility commission actions to ensure interoperability in charging infrastructure.
Electric Vehicles: Key Trends, Issues, and Considerations for State Regulators, October 2019
NARUC released an issue brief on electric vehicles and the important role of public utility commissions. Electric Vehicles: Key Trends, Issues, and Considerations for State Regulators examines trends in EV adoption, provides a synopsis of the types of decisions commissions are facing, and offers examples of recent state regulatory approaches to EV questions. The issue brief outlines the key issues and perspectives that commissions are likely to hear from stakeholders. Topics include who may own charging infrastructure, how to encourage charging during off-peak hours through rate design and managed charging, and emerging issues. A presentation summarizing key points can be viewed here.
Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Projection Tool (EVI-Pro Lite), Alternative Fuels Data Center, U.S. Department of Energy
This tool provides a simple way to estimate how much electric vehicle charging you might need and how it affects your charging load profile.
EV States Clearinghouse, National Association of State Energy Officials
The site is a repository for EV program documents from the states – such as model RFPs, staffing and budgetary models, and sample contracts – as well as current state-level EV roadmaps, EV infrastructure siting and assessment tools, and other resources.
Webinar: Uptime and Reliability for Public Charging/Chargers, March 26, 2024
During the March meeting of the EV State Working Group, members heard from Brett Steudle, ChargerHelp, Jacob Matthews, Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, and Jessie Lund, National Association of State Energy Officials.
Webinar: EV Battery Myth Busting, January 30, 2024
During the January 2024 meeting of the EV State Working Group, members heard from Patrick Walsh of the DOE Vehicle Technologies Office.
Webinar: EV Hosting Capacity, November 28, 2023
During the November 2023 meeting of the EV State Working Group, members heard from Sejal Shah and Kara Podkamminer of the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation and the Department of Energy, as well as Alex Young of National Grid.
Webinar: Medium and Heavy Duty EV Charging Part 2, October 24, 2023
During the October 2023 meeting of the EV State Working Group, members heard from Britta Gross, Director of Transportation, EPRI, Pamela MacDougall, Director Grid Modernization Strategy, EDF and Jacqueline Piero, US Head of Policy & Regulatory, The Mobility Project. The speakers discussed medium and heavy-duty vehicle charging issues such as load forecasting, fleet electrification, and infrastructure needs.
Webinar: Medium and Heavy Duty EV Charging Part 1, August 29th, 2023
During the August 2023 meeting of the EV State Working Group, our members heard from Kara Podkaminer from DOE, Ray Minjares from International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), Jed Proctor from Daimler Truck North America, and Adam Raphael from Amazon. The speakers discussed medium and heavy-duty vehicle charging issues such as load forecasting, fleet electrification, and infrastructure needs.
Webinar: Transportation Electrification Data Sharing, June 27, 2023
During the June 2023 meeting of the EV State Working Group, our members heard from Chris Irwin, Department of Energy, Luke Ackerknecht and Phil Stahlfeld, AlphaGrid; and Carine Dumit, EVgo to help examine the question of what insights utilities, utility commissions, solution providers, and stakeholders can glean from utility, distribution grid, and transportation data.
Webinar: EV Rate Impacts, May 30, 2023
During the May 2023 meeting of the EV State Working Group, Andy Satchwell from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Scott Drake from Eastern Kentucky Power, and Stephanie Leach of Baltimore Gas and Electric spoke about the impact EVs can have on electricity rates and ways to mitigate their impact on the grid.
Webinar: Building Rate Design for EVs from the Ground Up, May 9, 2023
During the May 2023 meeting of the NARUC Staff Subcommittee on Rate Design, Mark LeBel - senior associate from the Regularoy Assistance Project (RAP) - gave an overview of building rate design for electric vehicles.
Webinar: EV Demand Charges and Rates, April 25, 2023
During the April 2023 meeting of the EV State Working Group, Peter Cappers from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL), gave an overview of EV demand charges and rates.
Webinar: Vehicle to Grid, Interoperability and Smart Charging, March 28, 2023
During the March 2023 meeting of the EV State Working Group, speakers from DOE OE, Ford Pro Charging and Nuvve Holding Corporation discussed impacts of vehicle to grid (V2G), and smart charging (V1G).
Webinar: Planning for Current and Future Fleet Electrification Needs, February 28, 2023
During the February 2023 meeting of the EV State Working Group, speakers from North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) and Oncor Electric Delivery discuss electrifying fleets and heavy duty vehicles.
Webinar: Driving Forces Accelerating Transportation Electrification, January 31, 2023
During the January 2023 meeting of the EV State Working Group, speakers from DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and General Motors discussed the evolving EV landscape and topics such as decarbonization, federal EV funding from the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act (IIJA and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and EV infrastructure and charging.
Webinar: The Role of Pilot Programs and Pilot Evolutions for Transportation Electrification>, April 26, 2022
During the April meeting of the EV State Working Group, speakers from Pepco Holdings, the Michigan Public Service Commission, and Clean Energy Works provided insights on how utilities and commissions measure success for EV pilot programs and directions for future pilots, and discussed key considerations for regulators as they review utility pilot proposals.
Webinar: Incorporating Equity in Transportation Electrification Decision-Making, January 25, 2022
During the January meeting of NARUC's EV State Working Group, speakers from EVNoire, the Smart Electric Power Alliance, and Francis Energy discussed ways that state public utility regulators can support equity in transportation electrification via stakeholder engagement, rural electrification, and more.
Webinar: Interoperability of EV Charging Infrastructure, November 30, 2021
During the November meeting of NARUC's EV State Working Group, speakers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Greenlots, and Baltimore Gas and Electric discussed opportunities to advance interoperability for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Contact for copy of presentation and link to webinar recording
Webinar: PUC-Local Government Coordination for Transportation Electrification, August 31, 2021
During the August meeting of NARUC's EV State Working Group, speakers the Electrification Coalition, and the cities of Orlando, Florida and Portland Oregon presented on the efforts of municipal governments to facilitate transportation electrification in their jurisdictions, and discussed opportunities for regulators to better enable the transition.
Webinar: School Bus Electrification, June 29, 2021
During the June meeting of NARUC's EV State Working Group, speakers from the World Resources Institute, the Environmental Law & Policy Center, Montgomery County Public Schools national, regional and local efforts to electrify the school bus fleet.
Webinar: Heavy-Duty Truck Charging, May 25, 2021
During the May meeting of NARUC's EV State Working Group, speakers from the Environmental Defense Fund discussed heavy duty charging, electric vehicles as a grid asset and transportation electrification planning.
Webinar: Performance-Based Regulation Related to Transportation Electrification, December 15, 2020
During this joint webinar between the Electric Vehicles and the Performance-Based Regulation State Working Groups, panelists from the Regulatory Assistance Project, Strategen Consulting, and Con Edison provided an overview of opportunities, lessons learned, and insights for regulators, and experiences from the utility perspective for performance-based regulation in transportation electrification.
Webinar: PUC-State Legislative Relationships Related to Transportation Electrification, October 27, 2020
During the October meeting of NARUC's EV State Working Group, speakers discussed state legislative trends and how PUCs and state legislatures can coordinate to advance transportation electrification. Members heard presentations from the Atlas Public Policy, the Electrification Coalition, Plug in America, and the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Webinar: Regional Coordination for Transportation Electrification, September 22, 2020
During the September meeting of NARUC's EV State Working Group, speakers discussed regional coordination activities occurring between states and among state policy makers for transportation electrification. Members heard presentations from the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management, the National Association of State Energy Officials, the Great Plains Institute and the Duke Nicholas Institute.
Webinar: Interoperability and Standards for EV Charging, August 25, 2020
The August meeting of NARUC's EV State Working Group covered the landscape of interoperability issues, industry perspectives and progress towards interoperability of EV Charging. Members heard presentations from the Electric Power Research Institute, Greenlots and EPA ENERGY STAR.".
Webinar: Reducing EV Charging Infrastructure Costs, June 23, 2020
The June meeting of NARUC's EV State Working Group were given an overview of the siting and permitting process for public charging stations by a speaker from Tesla. Members were also briefed on a 2019 RMI report, "Reducing EV Charging Infrastructure Costs".
Webinar: Ensuring Equity in EV Programs, May 26, 2020
The May meeting of NARUC’s EV State Working Group covered how Commissions can ensure that transportation electrification programs and investments reach underserved communities, including low-income customers and those who live in multi-unit dwellings, while minimizing rate increases. Members heard presentations from the National Consumer Law Center and Pacific Gas and Electric.
Webinar: Managed Charging and Vehicle-to-Grid>, April 28, 2020
The April meeting of NARUC’s EV State Working Group covered managed charging and V2G. Members heard presentations from the Brattle Group, Avista Utilities, and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).
Webinar: The Utility Role in Charging Infrastructure, March 31, 2020
The March meeting of NARUC’s EV State Working Group covered the utility role in EV charging station construction and ownership. Members heard presentations from the Alliance for Transportation Electrification, Greenlots, and the New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel.
State Approaches to Electric Vehicle Proceedings, February 9, 2020, Washington, DC
With the increase in electric vehicle adoption in many areas of the country—and projections for even faster growth—many Commissions have been tasked with weighing proposals and decisions related to EVs. As of December 2019, at least 31 states plus DC have seen EV-related filings, with the number growing each year. In this session, organized by the NARUC Electric Vehicles State Working Group, we heard from three Commissions who have recently completed EV proceedings on topics including charging infrastructure proposals, rates to encourage off-peak charging, and charger rebate programs. Staff from Maryland, Michigan, and Minnesota each shared a case study of their proceeding(s) and highlighted how they scoped the issues, how they approached pilot proposals, what decisions their commissions eventually made, and the rationales for those decisions.
Webinar: Time-Varying Rates for EV Charging, January 14, 2020
The January meeting of NARUC’s EV State Working Group covered time-varying rates and their ability to successfully shift EV charging load. Members heard presentations from the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) and Synapse Energy Economics.
Funds from the Volkswagen Settlement present an excellent one-time opportunity for states to shore up their electric vehicle charging infrastructure—if they can navigate the required interagency coordination. CPI held a webinar to educate states about the availability of the funding and the role of coordination between agencies and with utilities.
NARUC is grateful to the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity, Transmission Permitting and Technical Assistance for funding that enables the resources and activities described on this webpage.
NARUC staff experts who support these activities include: