Transportation electrification: Are you missing the boat?

Electric vehicles (EVs) are here, but it could be decades before they dominate the market. Your utility can—and should—promote EV purchases among your customers, but what else can you do to drive transportation electrification in your territory? In this session, we explored making the case for expanding the scope of your transportation-electrification initiatives to include heavy-duty and nonroad technologies. We also discussed customer needs, technology benefits, and shared best practices and lessons learned for successful program design and implementation.

After this session, we asked presenters a few questions about their presentations. Check out their video responses below. And if you’re an E Source member, visit the E Source Forum 2019 page to download the presentations.

Cameron Freberg, utility strategist, Austin Energy

Our questions for Freberg:

What is it like to deploy a bus electrification project in partnership with the local transit authority? (0:11)
Austin Energy has been “all in” on transportation electrification for years. What (and when) does your utility expect to benefit from these investments? (1:32)
Other utilities are moving toward carbon-based goals to set and benchmark the performance of their customer programs. Is Austin considering this? Why or why not? (2:42)
When electric scooters first landed in Austin, there was some controversy and the city seized a lot of them. Is the city on better terms with the scooter companies now or are they still the “problem child” of electric transportation? (3:19)

John Morris, vice president of market development, D+R International

Our questions for Morris:

How are you getting energy professionals involved to help end homelessness? (0:11)
What do you see happening in the industry with respect to EV programs for low-income and disadvantaged communities? (1:40)
The utility industry is historically “male, pale, and stale.” What are you doing to help bring more diversity to the energy industry? (3:34)
What excites you the most about the future of utility EV programs, or the future of EVs period? (5:06)

Mike Wenzlaff, senior program manager, electric vehicles, BC Hydro

Our questions for Wenzlaff:

British Columbia has a fairly aggressive goal to get more EVs on the road in the coming years. What is BC Hydro doing to meet this goal, and what more do they plan to do in the future? (0:11)
How did ethnographic research and design-thinking principles serve you when you reimagined BC Hydro’s fast-charging program? (1:50)
What was the most odd, interesting, or unexpected customer feedback you received while fielding ethnographic research for your program? (4:30)