EPRI introduces GridFAST, a tool that streamlines and encourages early communication between customers with EV projects and utilities
The evolution of job searches over the past decade-plus has many lessons for navigating quickly changing customer expectations, including even those in the electric vehicle (EV) market.
In the past, job seekers scoured newspaper listings to find positions that were a good match for their skills and experience. Applicants responded to promising job openings by submitting a cover letter and resume directly to the employer. The newspaper’s role as a platform connecting employers and potential employees ended after that initial introduction. “You could find jobs in newspaper classified ads, but then you had to apply somewhere else,” said Watson Collins, an EPRI senior technical executive whose work focuses on electric transportation.
Today’s job search and application process is dramatically streamlined and standardized. Sites like Indeed and LinkedIn not only bring job searchers and employers together, but they also make it simple and fast to apply and begin communicating with a company. There is no reason to leave the platform.
This modernization and digitization of the job search has more to do with scaling EVs than may seem immediately apparent. One of the reasons EV projects—be it for fleet electrification or to add charging infrastructure to travel centers and other locations—can take longer than utilities or developers would like is because there has not been a single platform to initiate and support the ongoing communication and collaboration needed to accelerate EV infrastructure energization.
The lack of a platform allowing those who want to build and interconnect EV chargers to find and begin working with utilities has translated into delays, unnecessary expense, frustration, and damage to the reputation of utilities. It doesn’t have to be this way. Utilities can work collaboratively with their customers to seamlessly serve the expected scale of EVs, which may account for half of all new vehicle sales by 2030.
GridFAST: Efficient Communication to Speed EV Charging Projects
EPRI introduced GridFAST, an information exchange platform where customers with EV projects find and work with utilities to speed infrastructure energization. A group of EVs2Scale utility members are currently piloting and testing GridFAST, and the platform will be rolled out more comprehensively throughout 2025.
The development of GridFAST recognizes that utilities and those with EV infrastructure energization projects are still learning how to work together best.
“This is a novel process,” said Collins. “Utilities are becoming a fuel provider for fleets and EVs. Tools are needed to help navigate important project decisions early for successful EV service connections.”
Consider this scenario: a corporate decarbonization commitment requires the electrification of a commercial fleet. The fleet operator will already be an expert at ensuring its gas- and diesel-powered cars, trucks, and vans are fueled up to complete their routes reliably and contain operating costs.
The transition to a new fleet of EVs raises a range of questions and potential risks for the operator. Some fear that their lack of experience with EVs could result in a significant increase in fuel costs or instances when a fleet can’t complete its scheduled routes because vehicles aren’t sufficiently charged.
The timeline and expense of building and energizing chargers may also be unknown to utility customers. For example, does the current (or proposed) location where EVs will be charged have sufficient grid capacity to accommodate the load, or will upgrades be necessary? How long will necessary upgrades take to plan and complete, and how will the expense impact a company’s business case for electrification?
Why Connecting Utilities and Customers Early is Important
The list of questions utility customers with infrastructure energization projects need to answer is long. It includes complex topics like how demand charges could impact operations budgets and whether managed charging and favorable rates can contain those costs. Education about the charging speed and power needs of Level 2 and DC fast chargers is also foundational to guide customer selection of technologies.
Answering these and other questions early in a project’s life cycle creates mutually beneficial ripple effects that foster efficient and rapid progress. For example, early collaboration lets utilities provide customers with detailed information about grid capacity at a project’s proposed location. If grid capacity is insufficient to meet the future charging load, utilities can inform customers about the costs and timeline of upgrades and suggest phase-in power solutions or alternate locations.
Utilities are also major beneficiaries of early engagement with customers. For example, utility infrastructure planning improves when it is informed early by accurate and up-to-date customer charging plans. Early collaboration also gives utilities the opportunity to better serve their customers, an increasingly important priority for utility leaders. For instance, utility expertise can help customers avoid expensive grid upgrades and project delays with the addition of energy storage, solar, managed charging, flexible interconnection, and other measures.
Improved Staff Productivity Helps Scale EVs
Utilities already have systems and processes for EV customers to access the grid. GridFAST complements existing utility systems and provides a common portal that makes it easy for customers with national and regional EV infrastructure to reach the roughly 3,200 utilities in the U.S. “We’ve heard from customers that they have trouble finding the right utility contact. Utilities then have different ways of listing and even talking about their programs and other relevant information. There is no standardized format.” said Jen Robinson, an EPRI technical executive and project manager of GridFAST. “GridFAST helps both customers and utilities to share information and streamline EV project sticky points.”
Utility staff charged with processing project information also benefit because the information they receive from GridFAST is already vetted and in a standard format. This makes the utility more efficient and better equipped to handle a large volume of projects.
“It’s important to note that GridFAST doesn’t take the place of utility planning or customer interaction. It is designed to reduce much of the early back-and-forth between customers and utilities that leads to significant non-value effort and time spent on both sides,” said Britta Gross, director of transportation at EPRI. “Both customers and utilities have identified this as a major pain point in the interconnection process, and GridFAST aims to address this issue head-on.”
The rapid growth of EVs can obscure the fact that their mainstream availability and affordability are still a relatively recent phenomenon. That is why it should come as no surprise that utilities and their customers with EV projects are continuously developing more efficient and transparent ways to communicate and collaborate. By leveraging the unique capabilities of a platform, GridFAST is an important step forward.
GridFAST Timeline for Customers and Utilities
GridFAST is available to all customers and utilities as of March 2025. GridFAST accounts are free for customers of U.S. utilities with EV charging infrastructure projects, including fleet operators and the developers of public charging, workplace charging, and multi-family charging sites.
To learn more about GridFAST, visit gridfast.com. For inquiries, please contact Jen Robinson at jrobinson@epri.com.
EPRI Technical Experts:
Mariela Arceo, Watson Collins, Erin Costigliolo, Britta Gross, and Jen Robinson
For more information, contact techexpert@eprijournal.com.
