Electrification of the transportation sector is rapidly reshaping how fleets and EV charging providers operate. Yet, as grid planning timelines often do not align with the deployment speed of EVs, energizing EV infrastructure can be time-consuming, costly, and complicated by communication hurdles.
These industry-wide challenges highlight the growing need for early collaboration between utilities and their customers as the industry seeks to scale EV adoption. That’s why EPRI developed GridFAST, a central portal to connect businesses and utilities early to help proactively plan and accelerate EV charging projects. GridFAST is a cornerstone of EPRI’s EVs2Scale2030TM initiative, an effort that aims to align market stakeholders and address barriers to achieving 2030 electrification goals.
A new era of grid planning
Traditional grid planning was built around projects that relied on long construction timelines, leaving utilities with ample time to prepare the grid for upcoming loads. Today’s large-scale vehicle electrification presents a different challenge, as EVs can be deployed in months or even weeks, creating sudden, high-impact loads that require dynamic grid planning.
To plan effectively and affordably, utilities need early visibility into where infrastructure demand is headed and what upgrades will be required to meet those demands. GridFAST bridges this gap by enabling proactive, data-driven collaboration between utilities and EV stakeholders.
Why GridFAST matters for fleets and charging providers
With more than 3,000 utilities in the U.S., each following different processes and procedures, navigating the first steps can be challenging, especially for small fleets. GridFAST helps fleet operators locate and contact the correct utility, submit pre-service request information efficiently, and avoid incurring unnecessary costs, such as overbuilding with DC chargers when Level 2 charging may be sufficient.
By providing a platform for early communication and engagement, GridFAST enables fleets and other EV customers, such as public or private charging providers, to provide utilities with early insight into the charging infrastructure that best suits their current needs. This can help minimize costs associated with overbuilding and reduce the strain on the grid.
How GridFAST helps customers and utilities
GridFAST is a secure, centralized tool that helps streamline project collaboration between customers and electric utilities. It helps facilitate early communication, improve the accuracy of shared information, and maintain organized workflows to support electrification efforts. With GridFAST:
- Customers can match any U.S. site to the correct utility and contact.
- Customers can view EV-related program information across utilities in a standardized format.
- Utilities can plan for aggregate load impacts using customer site inputs.
- Customers can submit preliminary site information for projects years in advance to inform utilities of future intentions and improve the utility's ability to plan. Even basic project details, such as an address, estimated load, and timeline, are enough data to get your project in the GridFAST system and on a utility’s radar.
- Customers only need to use a single intake form across all utilities to prepare information for a utility’s pre-service request process.
GridFAST’s founders – including leading utilities, fleet operators, and charging developers - helped shape a platform that reflects the needs of utilities and customers, promoting early data sharing, standardization, and scalable electrification.
Fast, free and ready to scale
EV customers planning for fleet electrification, stay ahead of the game with GridFAST to notify utilities early, even years ahead of deployment. Whether electrifying a single site or deploying a nationwide fleet, GridFAST enables smarter planning, earlier collaboration, and can result in reduced costs.
GridFAST is available at no cost to EV customers. To get started, create a free account and submit your first EV project through the customer portal.
Utilities can choose from three GridFAST options: GridFAST Lite, which is available at no charge, or upgrade to GridFAST & GridFAST+ for full-featured subscription options. (Pricing and details here.)
Demand for EV infrastructure is likely to be top of mind for planners across the electric and transportation sectors for years to come. GridFAST can provide the opportunity to make connections early and move quickly on the path to transportation electrification.
Schedule a GridFAST demo with a member of our team. Learn more about GridFAST here. Contact [email protected] for more information.
