Logout
Yellow PLMA lightning bolt icon

Agenda

Registration Desk / Lanyard sponsor

Wi-Fi Sponsor

Download THE Agenda At a Glance

12:00 - 1:00 pm

Lunch | Atrium
Sponsored by
Itron logo in white
Opening Session | Evergreen Ballroom AB
Allison Hamilton
NRECA

1:00 - 1:15 pm

Welcome and PLMA Board Chair Remarks

Richard Barone
Oracle Utilities and PLMA Board Chair

1:15 - 2:00 pm

VGI Readiness: Managed Charging, Distribution Planning, and Partnerships
Utilities across North America are beginning to see the direct impacts of EV charging on their distribution grids. Load management strategies — including passive, active, and bidirectional charging — have been proven to mitigate distribution overloading for transformers and feeders, but scaling those solutions is difficult. This panel presentation will explore the strategies utilities, automakers, and load management software providers are using to scale these solutions for thousands of EV drivers. The session will present results from distribution upgrade modeling that compares the costs and benefits of TOU pricing rates and advanced load balancing strategies versus unmanaged charging. It will also include discussions on using telematics vs. charger communication pathways and understanding actual vs. counterfactual managed charging data. Xcel Energy, BGE, and PHI will share their experiences to date with key takeaways on how utilities are reducing EV-driven infrastructure costs and implementing scalable, effective managed charging strategies.
Garrett Fitzgerald, SEPA

Moderator
Garrett Fitzgerald

SEPA

Josh Cadoret
Exelon

Carlos Hill, Xcel Energy

Carlos Hill
Xcel Energy

William Goldsmith, ev.energy

William Goldsmith
ev.energy

Matthias Bell, WeaveGrid

Matthias Bell
WeaveGrid

2:00 - 2:30 pm

Refreshment Break | Evergreen Foyer

2:30 - 3:15 pm

Break Out 1 | Evergreen Ballroom AB

Amy Findlay, ChargeScape

Co-Chair
Amy Findlay

ChargeScape

Kendall Cody, WeaveGrid

Co-Chair
Kendall Cody

WeaveGrid

Getting from Here to There: The Roadmap for EV Charging

EV OEMs and utilities share a common objective of creating effortless, optimized charging experiences for their mutual customers, and are taking steps to ensure that this vision can be realized. In the first part of this session, EV OEMs and utilities will start by sharing their experiences to date including challenges to overcome. In the second portion, we will fast forward to a discussion of each company’s vision for the future of managed charging and V2X with discussion focused on what it will take to get there.

Kiana Davila, DTE Energy

Kiana Davila
DTE Energy

Lance Atkins
Nissan

Eric Newberry, Ford

Eric Newberry
Ford

Aaron Dyer, Southern California Edison

Aaron Dyer
Southern California Edison

Doug Middleton, Tesla

Doug Middleton
Tesla

Alex Pawlowski, Kia

Alex Pawlowski
Kia

Break Out 2 | Evergreen Ballroom C

Stacy Noblet, ICF

Co-Chair
Stacy Noblet

ICF

Jingjing Liu, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab

Co-Chair
Jingjing Liu

LBNL

Aligning EV Charging with Renewable Generation: Xcel Energy’s Charging Perks Success Story

Xcel Energy’s Charging Perks program demonstrates the power of active managed charging to dynamically adjust EV charging based on grid conditions. This panel brings together the key orchestrators of the program—utility (Xcel Energy), technology provider (WeaveGrid), EVSE manufacturer (Emporia)—to discuss how their collaboration created a driver-centric managed charging experience while delivering grid benefits. Launched in Colorado in 2021 as a pilot and now expanded to full program status, Charging Perks showcases advanced vehicle telematics and charger-based optimization that proactively shifts charging to capitalize on abundant renewable energy. Panelists will share insights on impact analysis methodologies, customer acquisition strategies, and the real-world distribution system impacts, as well as in contrast to Optimize Your Charge, Xcel Energy’s passive managed charging program.

Moderator
Jessi Gallu
WeaveGrid

Craig Miller
Xcel Energy

Ben Thacker
Emporia

Break Out 3 | Evergreen Ballroom D

Ross Malme, Malme Energy Consulting

Co-Chair
Ross Malme

Malme Consulting

Brad Davids, WeaveGrid

Co-Chair
Brad Davids

Clarum Advisors

Unlocking EV Flexibility in a New York Minute: Strategies for Connectivity, Interoperability, and Affordability

Electric vehicles are rapidly integrating into the New York grid, presenting a significant opportunity for utilities to leverage their flexibility. This panel will bring together New York utilities and solution providers for a no-nonsense discussion covering a leading-edge portfolio of residential and commercial EV load management solutions that deliver customer savings and grid flexibility. Panelists will share insights from diverse utility service areas, exploring how similar behavioral, rate, rebate, and upfront incentive program models are being adapted to different local contexts. We will explore the diverse integration strategies being utilized to enable EV flexibility at scale today, and what is needed to ensure equity, accessibility, and innovation across the ecosystem. Attendees will hear what’s next for New York’s expanding portfolio of load management programs, and how key factors like connectivity, interoperability, and affordability will shape the path forward.

Lauren Kastner

Moderator
Lauren Kastner
ICF

Charles Spence, Avangrid

Charles Spence
Avangrid

Michael Badeski, Con Edison

Michael Badeski
Con Edison

Max Clarke, ev.energy

Max Clarke
EV.Energy

Cristobal Maturana, Enode

Cristobal Maturana
Enode

Break Out 4 | Evergreen Ballroom EF

Hilary Polis, Opinion Dynamics

Co-Chair
Hilary Polis

Opinion Dynamics

Palak Jain, Oracle Utilities

Co-Chair
Palak Jain

Oracle Utilities

Lessons Learned from Evaluating California’s Medium/Heavy Duty EV Programs

Cadmus leads the third-party evaluation of over $700 million in charging infrastructure spending for four California utilities—SCE, PG&E, SDG&E, and Liberty, with most of that funding targeted towards medium-to-heavy-duty (MDHD) fleets. Objectives of the evaluation include assessing whether the utilities’ program investments in TE accelerate the market, whether the TE investments maximized benefits and minimized costs, including co-benefits (e.g., reduced fumes, less ambient noise, and improvements to health, safety, foot traffic) and co-costs (e.g., impact on parking spaces, labor impacts, difficulty incorporating electric vehicles into operations), and integrating learnings from analysis of program activities to develop recommendations. Michael Colby, Project Manager of this multi-year evaluation, will present lessons learned and findings specific to the grid impacts (including load curves, charging flexibility, and charging optimization) of these programs.

Michael Colby
Cadmus

3:15 - 3:45 pm

Break Out 1 | Evergreen Ballroom AB

CONTINUED FROM 2:30 PM:
Getting from Here to There: The Roadmap for EV Charging

EV OEMs and utilities share a common objective of creating effortless, optimized charging experiences for their mutual customers, and are taking steps to ensure that this vision can be realized. In the first part of this session, EV OEMs and utilities will start by sharing their experiences to date including challenges to overcome. In the second portion, we will fast forward to a discussion of each company’s vision for the future of managed charging and V2X with discussion focused on what it will take to get there.

Kiana Davila, DTE Energy

Kiana Davila
DTE Energy

Lance Atkins
Nissan

Eric Newberry, Ford

Eric Newberry
Ford

Aaron Dyer, Southern California Edison

Aaron Dyer
Southern California Edison

Doug Middleton, Tesla

Doug Middleton
Tesla

Alex Pawlowski, Kia

Alex Pawlowski
Kia

Break Out 2 | Evergreen Ballroom C

Driving Off-Peak Charging: Insights from PGE’s Fleet TOU Consulting Trial

Join Portland General Electric (PGE) as we share key learnings from our Time-of-Use (TOU) Consulting Trial aimed at encouraging electric vehicle fleet customers to shift charging to off-peak hours. In this session, we’ll explore how personalized consultations, rate education, detailed bill analysis, technical support, and ongoing monthly reports have empowered fleet operators to optimize their charging schedules to reduce peak load. Discover how this low-cost approach is promoting off-peak charging and laying the groundwork for more advanced managed charging strategies in the future.

Luke Whittemore, Portland General Electric

Luke Whittemore
Portland General Electric

Break Out 3 | Evergreen Ballroom D

CONTINUED FROM 2:30 PM:
Unlocking EV Flexibility in a New York Minute: Strategies for Connectivity, Interoperability, and Affordability

Electric vehicles are rapidly integrating into the New York grid, presenting a significant opportunity for utilities to leverage their flexibility. This panel will bring together New York utilities and solution providers for a no-nonsense discussion covering a leading-edge portfolio of residential and commercial EV load management solutions that deliver customer savings and grid flexibility. Panelists will share insights from diverse utility service areas, exploring how similar behavioral, rate, rebate, and upfront incentive program models are being adapted to different local contexts. We will explore the diverse integration strategies being utilized to enable EV flexibility at scale today, and what is needed to ensure equity, accessibility, and innovation across the ecosystem. Attendees will hear what’s next for New York’s expanding portfolio of load management programs, and how key factors like connectivity, interoperability, and affordability will shape the path forward.

Lauren Kastner

Moderator
Lauren Kastner
ICF

Charles Spence, Avangrid

Charles Spence
Avangrid

Michael Badeski, Con Edison

Michael Badeski
Con Edison

Max Clarke, ev.energy

Max Clarke
EV.Energy

Cristobal Maturana, Enode

Cristobal Maturana
Enode

Break Out 4 | Evergreen Ballroom EF

The Importance of Stakeholder Engagement in the Deployment of Heavy Duty Fleet Infrastructure

The abstract presents a useful practical topic from a highly credible source, applicable to utilities seeking to add value for commercial fleet operators. It offers insights from practical experience and demonstrates alignment across multiple stakeholder phases. The content highlights solutions for flexible interconnection while embracing transportation electrification—providing actionable approaches for utilities navigating the evolving electric vehicle landscape.

Rahul Chatterjee
Commonwealth Edison

Varun Thakkar
CLEAResult

3:45 - 4:15 pm

Refreshment Break | Evergreen Foyer
Day 1 Closing Session | Evergreen Ballroom AB
Ruth Kiselewich, ICF

Ruth Kiselewich
ICF

4:15 - 5:00 PM

Switch Mode: Converting Customers Between Programs To Maximize Learning

Eversource’s managed charging programs have come a long way since 2019 when the first EVSE enrolled in the ConnectedSolutions demand response program. A new EV program in Connecticut in 2022 launched Eversource’s managed charging program evolution, which has required it to incorporate a new element into the program design each year while maintaining and ultimately converting legacy cohorts. Managing the complexity associated with running multiple variations of a similar charging program for unique groups of customers is a challenge, but it has  provided valuable learnings for the utility and its implementation and evaluation partners.  Join us to hear Eversource’s observations on the impacts of its new program elements on customer behavior and customer satisfaction with its managed charging programs.

Amy Findlay, ChargeScape

Moderator
Amy Findlay
ChargeScape

Marshall Blundell, Demand Side Analytics Partner

Marshall Blundell
Demand Side Analytics

Gabby Ostrov, Eversource

Gabby Ostrov
Eversource

Jhena Vigrass, Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority

Jhena Vigrass
Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority

5:00 - 5:30 PM

Technology Advancement Roundtable
PLMA members will present, in three-minute segments, their new and enhanced EV managed charging product and service offerings, followed by a short moderated Q&A. Join us for a fast-paced update on what’s new!
Participants
Energy Hub logoSense logo

6:00 pm

Grand Dinner Reception at The Vehicle Vault:
A Museum of U.S. Automobiles from across History 

Join us for an evening exploring a spectacular private automotive collection while connecting with familiar faces and new colleagues at the 2025 EV Symposium! The Vehicle Vault began as a vision to preserve automotive history and culture and has evolved into a venue where history, innovation, and human connections intersect.

Hosted by our Grand Dinner Reception Sponsors, you’ll enjoy fabulous food and drinks, music, lots of fun networking, plus an opportunity to take in this remarkable collection of cars.

PLMA will provide complimentary bus transportation to and from the Vehicle Vault.

Sponsored by
Resource InnovationsWeaveGrid logo

7:00 - 8:00 am

Breakfast | Atrium
Sponsored by
Itron logo in white
Day 2 Opening Session | Evergreen AB

Rich Barone
Oracle Utilities and PLMA Board Chair

8:00 - 9:15 AM

Capturing the True Value of EV Load Management

EV managed charging programs can now capture multiple grid and customer benefits. Appropriately valuing these benefits is highly dependent on both regulatory frameworks and selecting appropriate evaluation approaches. This panel will draw on program and evaluation results to provide an overview of managed charging benefit-cost analysis frameworks and lessons learned from across the U.S.; an evaluator’s perspective on best practices for measuring EV managed charging program impacts and benefits; and utility perspectives on opportunities to advance program designs and regulatory frameworks to capture the full suite of benefits. Join us to learn how impact analyses and benefit-cost analyses are applied to managed charging programs, and a vision for how load management practitioners can collaborate to enhance program designs, evaluation approaches, and regulatory frameworks to appropriately capture the benefits that managed charging programs provide to utilities, ratepayers, and society.

Myles Collins, Berkeley Lab

Moderator
Myles Collins

Berkeley Lab

Tami Buhr, Opinion Dynamics

Tami Buhr
Opinion Dynamics

Brian Kirchman, ComEd

Brian Kirchman
ComEd

Amy Costadone, Pacific Gas & Electric

Amy Costadone
Pacific Gas & Electric

Nathan Kassees, Xcel Energy

Nathan Kassees
Xcel Energy

9:15 - 9:45 am

Refreshment Break | Evergreen Foyer

9:45 - 10:30 AM

Break Out 5 | Evergreen Ballroom AB

Aakriti Gupta, EnergyHub

Co-Chair
Aakriti Gupta

EnergyHub

Meghan Jennings, Rappahannock Electric Co-op

Co-Chair
Meghan Jennings

Rappahannock Electric Cooperative

Proactive Utility Planning For Mitigating Distribution System Impacts

As transportation electrification accelerates, T&D must accommodate the growing demand from fleet electrification. Different vehicle types have distinct charging load profiles, with 50 light-duty vehicles alone requiring up to 360 kW, and medium- and heavy-duty fleets demanding even more. To assess grid readiness, charging load profiles for various fleets in the Kansas Metro and Kansas Central areas were modeled. Fleet locations were mapped to their nearest utility transformers and feeder lines, with coincident peak loads overlaid on distribution system data. The analysis assumed 50% electrification in target fleets, comparing summer and winter peak capacity against projected EV load demand and growth.Results showed that under a baseline scenario, 8% of distribution circuits would require upgrades, while managed charging strategies reduced this to 2%. This impact study underscores the importance of proactive utility planning to anticipate electrification impacts and highlights how to utilize programs to mitigate distribution system upgrade costs while maintaining reliability.

Kameel Kishek, CLEAResult

Kameel Kishek
CLEAResult

Julie Dietrich, Fleet Electrification
Julie Dietrich
Fleet Electrification

Break Out 6 | Evergreen Ballroom C

Derek Kirchner

Co-Chair
Derek Kirchner

TRC Companies

Dave Alspector, Tierra Resource Consultants

Co-Chair
Dave Alspector

Tierra Resource Consultants

What’s Underway? Big Steps Towards Bidirectional Charging V2X In California

California Energy Commission has funded 10 “Responsive, Easy Charging Products With Dynamic Signals (REDWDS)” projects to demonstrate and deploy EV charging products that can respond to dynamic grid signals. Three REDWDS projects have significant bidirectional charging scope led by Kaluza, Bidirectional Energy, and dcbel. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) is funded by Southern California Edison to work with these three bidirectional charging technology providers to document their use cases, approaches to communicate grid and price signals, charging control and optimization, customer experience, interoperability features, and up-to-date progress and challenges in their projects. San Diego Gas and Electric has also been working with these REDWDS projects to showcase value stack for scaling. In addition, SDG&E is demonstrating using bidirectional community EV charging and discharging along with solar and battery to backup critical local water supply loads during Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events.

Jingjing Liu, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab

Jingjing Liu
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab

Nick Fiore, San Diego Gas and Electric

Nick Fiore
San Diego Gas and Electric

Break Out 7 | Evergreen Ballroom D

Brad Davids, WeaveGrid

Co-Chair
Brad Davids

Clarum Advisors

Gary Smith, Sagewell

Co-Chair
Gary Smith

Sagewell

M&V For Real-Time Rates: How To Measure Impact When Everything Is Changing

Real-time pricing and dynamic rates are transforming EV charging behavior, offering greater load flexibility and easing grid stress. However, as EV Managed Charging programs expand and rate structures grow more complex, measuring and verifying program impacts becomes challenging. Traditional techniques used for flat or TOU rates often fail under dynamic pricing. This session explores insights from ComEd’s Residential Optimized Charging (ROC) pilot, where Optiwatt and Opinion Dynamics are advancing Measurement Verification strategies tailored for real-time rate environments. Using early results from over 1,000 vehicles, we’ll show how ROC is developing smarter frameworks to: design effective managed charging programs, define peak windows based on price signals, and build counterfactuals using real-time telematics rather than assumptions. As dynamic pricing becomes the norm, evolving approaches will be essential to accurately assess the true impact of EV charging programs and to distinguish the benefits of active vs. passive load management.

Amanda Vrbas, Optiwatt

Moderator
Amanda Vrbas
Optiwatt

Danielle Fulmer, Opinion Dynamics

Danielle Fulmer
Opinion Dynamics

Brian Kirchman, ComEd

Brian Kirchman
ComEd

Break Out 8 | Evergreen Ballroom EF

Pauline Marcou, Oracle

Co-Chair
Pauline Marcou

Oracle Utilities

Sneha Vasudevan, Uplight

Co-Chair
Sneha Vasudevan

Uplight

Who’s Behind The Wheel? Understanding EV Drivers To Scale Programs

How well do you know your EV program’s participants? This workshop will help attendees understand more about drivers in EV managed charging programs, including why they enroll, what types of programs they’re drawn to, what their expectations are, how incentives influence participation, and the most effective communication channels for engagement. It will also examine why drivers opt out or leave programs and explore strategies for re-engagement. Using an interactive format and real-world data, participants will collaborate to identify best practices for reaching diverse EV drivers to scale programs. Attendees will learn proven strategies to boost enrollments, decrease opt-outs, and create engaging, driver-centric programs.

Ameya Nilkanth, EnergyHub

Ameya Nilkanth
EnergyHub

Stacy Noblet, ICF

Stacy Noblet
ICF

10:30 - 11:00 am

Break Out 5 | Evergreen Ballroom AB

Enabling Local Grid Flexibility With EV Managed Charging
The session introduces a GWAC-aligned, service-oriented architecture that leverages established protocols such as OpenADR 3.0, OCPI, and IEEE 2030.13. It highlights real-world deployments, including 2,500 chargers reporting aggregated load every 15 minutes across 82 network zones, and a workplace site in New Jersey reducing 200kW of EV load in under two seconds.

The session concludes with a roadmap for large-scale deployment and announces the forthcoming release of an EPRI guidebook and reference implementation, expected in Q4 2025.

Raymond Kaiser, EVoke Systems

Raymond Kaiser
EVoke Systems

Break Out 6 | Evergreen Ballroom C

Quantifying The Big Value Streams Of Smart Charging: (Load) Shape The Future!

As EV adoption accelerates, many regulators and utility executives remain skeptical of managed charging—leading to small, underfunded efforts that miss the chance to control rising grid costs. What’s been missing is a rigorous, bottom-up analysis of smart charging’s value along with a clear roadmap to get customers to join. This presentation offers a 10-year value stack, from transformers, feeders, substations, up to system-wide benefits, quantifying over $100 billion in avoided upgrades, renewable integration, energy savings, and ancillary services. As a bonus…we’ll examine customer adoption barriers using sharp, often humorous man-on-the-street interviews. Beyond grid benefits, smart charging unlocks tens of billions in customer savings, public health improvements, and economic gains. The findings give utilities a credible, data-driven case for regulators and executives—proving smart charging isn’t optional, it’s essential. Without it: higher costs, local overloads, and rising rates.

Bill LeBlanc, LeBlanc Energy Innovation

Bill LeBlanc
LeBlanc Energy Innovation

Break Out 7 | Evergreen Ballroom D

A Forward-Looking Dataset Of EV Managed Charging Resource And Costs

This presentation summarizes a high-resolution, forward-looking dataset of EV adoption, EV charging, and managed charging resource. Vehicle-level data are grounded in current adoption and charging patterns, and ~200,000 real-world vehicle-weeks of travel data covering all on-road segments (i.e., light-duty, transit and school buses, local, regional and long-haul medium- and heavy-duty). The data, which include multiple charging profiles per vehicle to bound flexibility, are then processed and aggregated to describe baseline charging and charge management resource by county, hour, year, scenario, and vehicle type. Coupled with one of four scenarios of how EV managed charging costs might evolve over time, the dataset enables a power sector capacity expansion model to select cost-optimal quantities of EV managed charging and supply-side resources to reliably satisfy demand. Five integration strategies: Baseline, Daytime and Flat (passive), Flex (active), and Stress (anti-strategy), illustrate how baseline charging and flexibility potential changes with EVSE build-out and charging preferences.

Elaine Hale, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Elaine Hale
National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Break Out 8 | Evergreen Ballroom EF

Watt Drives Public Charging? Dynamic Pricing Shifting Public Charging Behavior

Octopus Energy’s “Electroverse” is an e-Mobility Service Provider (eMSP) with nearly 1 million users, providing access to 950,000+ public chargers across 1,100+ public charging networks in 33 countries using a single mobile app. Electroverse worked with Centre for Net Zero in the UK to trial first-of-its-kind dynamic pricing to test shifting public EV charging behavior. Offering up to 40% discounts during periods of abundant clean energy led to a doubling of charging vs. control groups, demonstrating significant price elasticity on certain days and periods of time. Trials also showed “demand creation,” indicating higher charging demand exists at dynamic pricing than at static rates. This suggests large, untapped potential for aligning charging with low-cost, low-carbon energy. The presentation will detail trial methodology and results, discuss implications for influencing EV charging behavior, explore US applications and propose approaches for utilities and chargepoint operators to test elasticity and drive utilization.

Nathan Wyeth, Octopus Energy US

Nathan Wyeth
Octopus Energy US

11:00 - 11:15am

Refreshment Break | Evergreen Foyer
Day 2 Closing Session | Evergreen AB
Robin Maslowski, Trillium Energy Consulting

Robin Maslowski
Trillium Energy Consulting

11:15 AM - 12 PM 

Distribution Optimization: The Key to Scaling EV Managed Charging

As EV adoption accelerates, distribution systems face unprecedented challenges that traditional grid models often fail to capture. This panel brings together industry leaders from technology, research, utility, and automotive sectors to explore how managed charging strategies can effectively address distribution constraints. Panelists will share insights from field deployments, including BGE’s innovative Smart Charge Management Program, EPRI’s research findings on distribution impacts, WeaveGrid’s software solutions for distribution optimization, and Toyota’s perspective on customer-centric vehicle-grid integration. The session will highlight practical approaches to integrating EV loads while minimizing infrastructure investments and maximizing customer and grid benefits.

Kendall Cody, WeaveGrid

Moderator
Kendall Cody
WeaveGrid

Ben Clarin, EPRI

Ben Clarin
EPRI

Stephanie Leach, Baltimore Gas & Electric

Stephanie Leach
Baltimore Gas & Electric

Max Parness, Toyota North America

Max Parness
Toyota North America

12:00 PM

Closing
Robin Maslowski, Trillium Energy Consulting

Robin Maslowski
Trillium Energy Consulting

12:00 - 1:00 pm

Lunch - Atrium
Sponsored by
Itron logo in white