Trends in utility organizational structures for mobility

Utilities are quickly adding responsibilities, positions, and even whole teams to their organizational structures to support their transportation electrification (TE) plans. The size and structure of the mobility teams depends on a few factors:

• State mandates and funding for mobility. Some utilities have large amounts of money available to fund mobility initiatives or are required to run certain programs.
• The maturity of the utility’s mobility initiatives. Some utilities already have established mobility programs that they support with specific positions; others are just starting to develop mobility initiatives and haven’t assigned a lot of resources.
• The size and staff at the utility. At smaller utilities, staff work on multiple topics with less specialization. Large utilities can create roles that are specialized to specific programs.

In this report we highlight the biggest trends in how utilities are organizing their teams around mobility. Members of the E Source Mobility Service can read our report How utilities are adding mobility to their organizational structures, which includes the full mobility organizational charts for the utilities featured here.

Mobility as part of someone’s job within DSM

Several of the utilities we studied have added mobility to part of someone’s job within the DSM department.

NPPD

Under the VP of customer services at NPPD is the program manager of electrification. The manager of sustainable energy oversees both the manager of electrification and the program manager of energy efficiency.

Idaho Power

Idaho Power has a 0.75 FTE dedicated to TE. That person reports to a customer programs leader. Both positions fall under the VP of customer operations.

Anonymous midwestern utility

At a midwestern investor-owned utility, multiple roles work partially on mobility. This includes a planning and development specialist, a marketing specialist, and one of the program managers. These positions fall under the VP of customer services.

ComEd

ComEd doesn’t have a specific dedicated mobility role. Rather, mobility is part of multiple people’s jobs across teams. ComEd has both senior director and manager positions that work on mobility. Both positions report to the senior director of strategic planning and innovation.

Mobility as part of someone’s job outside of DSM

One utility we studied includes mobility work as part of someone’s job in a division separate from DSM.

JEA assigns its mobility roles at the manager level under its VP of strategy. The manager of electrification oversees all electrification topics. Efficiency work falls under a separate VP and group.

Positions dedicated to mobility within DSM

Three utilities have dedicated mobility positions within their DSM departments.

SRP

At SRP, the utility houses its dedicated mobility positions under the assistant general manager of customer programs. The director of customer programs oversees topics like EVs, demand response, energy efficiency, electrification, and solar. An EV lead and a product manager both work on mobility under the director.

Silicon Valley Power

The transportation electrification program manager is the dedicated mobility position at Silicon Valley Power. This position reports to a senior division manager of customer engagement.

Evergy

The senior director of energy solutions oversees DSM, distributed energy resources, electrification, and nonregulated work at Evergy. There are three electrification product managers that each oversee one topic: fleet electrification, off-road electrification, and nonfleet electrification. Evergy also has a senior manager of electrification to guide strategy and programs across the organization.

Positions dedicated to mobility outside of DSM

Some utilities have created positions that are 100% dedicated to mobility work. One utility in our study houses the dedicated mobility position in a department that’s separate from DSM.

BGE

BGE’s engineering division houses the mobility position, which rolls up to a VP of electric operations. At BGE, the senior program manager for the Green Power Connect EV program is the mobility role. Energy efficiency and DSM are in a separate group.

Mobility department with multiple divisions

Most utilities haven’t created whole divisions that are responsible for mobility yet. But Xcel Energy provides an innovative example of how utilities can do this.

Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy has an entire organizational structure dedicated to mobility, including more than 40 people under one VP who reports to the second-highest position in the company. The highest mobility position is the VP of clean transportation.

The mobility division includes seven directors or senior directors who report to the VP of clean transportation, including four directors of clean transportation. Each of the director’s teams has a distinct function, such as product development, transportation strategy and policy, and program management.