Unique conversations
Steve Mitnick has authored four books on the economics, history, and people of the utilities industries. While in the consulting practice leadership of McKinsey & Co. and Marsh & McLennan, he advised utility leaders. He led a transmission development company and was a New York Governor’s chief energy advisor. Mitnick was an expert witness appearing before utility regulatory commissions of six states, D.C., FERC, and in Canada, and taught microeconomics, macroeconomics, and statistics at Georgetown University.
The Public Utilities Fortnightly team asked the same five broad questions of all eighteen experts from the twelve utilities. Half of the companies being represented here by two rather than one EV program leader.
We asked, what are the goals of your utility's EV program? For both the utility's residential and commercial/fleet customers. Then, what are you doing to meet those goals? Such as with rebates and other incentives. Then, how is your utility collaborating with external players in transportation electrification? Including the utility's regulators, community groups, vendors, professional firms, the auto industry, and non-governmental organizations. Then, how is or will your utility use the tsunami of data on EV adoption and the where and when of charging behaviors? And finally, what will your utility's EV program look like three to five years from now?
We found it so interesting to compare these dozen discussions, the commonalities, and the differences too. Read on to see what's up with EVs at Arizona Public Service, Avangrid, CMS Energy, Commonwealth Edison, Con Edison, Duquesne Light, Idaho Power, National Grid, NiSource, Portland General Electric, Puget Sound Energy, and Southern Company.