Todd Thomas

Some more great news from BetterFleet.A cutting edge project with Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and California Energy Commission testing advanced integration of fleets into the energy grid.

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With all the noise in the US market, organisations such as the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California are just moving forward with transitioning their vehicles to zero emission options. Hopefully, this Los Angeles Times article gives all fleets comfort that this is just business as usual. So grateful to the California Energy Commission for helping us push these deployments to the cutting edge of grid/market integration so that our customers can have lower cost and more resilient energy supply.

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ICF partnered with the Washington State Department of Commerce to create a strategic roadmap for a future state with over 3 million (!!) #EV charging ports. By modeling utility circuits and analyzing charging scenarios, the team helped identify a potential $8 billion in savings through managed, off-peak charging. https://lnkd.in/e4qPwVAH

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Today marks a significant step forward in Edison International’s commitment to helping community members recover from the Eaton Fire. Southern California Edison (SCE)’s Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program is now open and those eligible can submit claims by going to sce.com/directclaims. With the help of the experts who designed the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, SCE was committed to creating a program that would enable the community to rebuild faster, while treating everyone fairly. The program is simple and thorough, honoring the wishes of those who want to work with an attorney and those who don’t. We listened closely to what community members said they needed and strengthened the program as a result. Getting it right is critical to us — we are and will remain part of these communities.  To everyone who came to one of SCE’s community listening sessions, who reached out directly, who took the time to give input — thank you. My Edison teammates and I are committed to helping Altadena recover and rebuild as quickly as possible. https://lnkd.in/g6CgP9Jt

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The PNW is powering up with Washington and Oregon pulling together the 2026 #Solar & Storage conference of the year!

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Excited to be heading to Aggie Square tomorrow for the MIX event and to be part of a conversation about what resilient, community-focused energy actually looks like in practice. In my recent post, I dove into why the microgrid market is set to nearly triple and why utilities and communities are starting to view microgrids as complete energy alternatives, not just temporary stopgaps—looking forward to carrying that discussion into the room with founders, policymakers, and partners who are building what comes next. BoxPower #Batteryenergystorage #Reliableenergy #Microgrids #Sacramento

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Tackling California Electric Rates: We Can't Fix Rates Without Fixing the CPUC One of the biggest barriers to lowering California's electric rates is the California Public Utilities Commission itself. Over the past month or so, I’ve posted on why we must reduce electric rates and some ideas on how to achieve real reductions. (Links in the comments.) But one place where there is a surprising amount of consensus is that the CPUC’s ossified processes and broken systems are perhaps the largest barrier to real change. The California Public Utilities Commission was created in 1911 as the Railroad Commission. Today, its 1,000+ staff members regulate everything from Uber to water quality to—yes, still—railroads, in addition to our electric and gas utilities. The agency is a combination of judicial and administrative processes that have evolved into something that would make #FranzKafka blush. Most critical decisions follow court-style rules of evidence and procedure, many containing over 10,000 pages of documents. Power is split between commissioners, staff, and administrative law judges. It's nearly impossible for regular people and organizations to participate meaningfully. The entities that can successfully engage? The utilities themselves, with armies of regulatory staff and attorneys. For example, rate cases are legally required to be completed in 18 months, but routinely take multiple years. In one case I was involved in, it took nearly five years (2018-2023) to decide how a customer should be able to click a button to share their own energy data with an app. This isn't mostly the fault of CPUC staff, many of whom are dedicated and hardworking. The system they operate within is simply broken, and the utilities are incredibly crafty at exploiting it. Meanwhile, the legislature piles on new mandates without additional funding or support. California needs a strong, nimble, savvy regulator for our monopoly energy system. We need this regulatory entity laser-focused on regulating utilities for reliability, safety, and affordability. My initial take is that much of the CPUC’s non-energy work should perhaps be transferred to other state agencies. You can make a good case that the California Energy Commission would be better suited to run the key energy-related public policy programs currently administered by the CPUC. Regardless, the agency needs to be restructured so that it can move quickly, take on complex issues, and appropriately take into account public input. As a constitutional entity, many of these changes will likely require a ballot measure. But we cannot expect better outcomes while maintaining the same broken regulatory structure.

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Excited to share the latest outcomes from California! Through innovative EV load management, we're offering incentives to drivers for charging, optimizing energy usage, and leveraging solar power benefits in the Golden State. Our recent collaboration involving ev.energy, MCE, and Silicon Valley Clean Energy, supported by the California Energy Commission, has demonstrated that dynamic control and incentivization of EV flexible load yield superior outcomes compared to Time-of-Use (TOU) strategies alone. This approach has led to: - 98% of charging occurring during off-peak hours - Shifting 30% of charging to solar-abundant midday periods This initiative translates into annual savings of $200 per driver, showcasing the potential for cost reduction, rate optimization, increased renewable energy utilization, and enhanced fairness in the system. Stay tuned for more updates as we progress into phase 2 of our project in partnership with the CEC. 👉 Discover more details in the comments section!

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The momentum behind electric vehicles continues to move forward. Explore a few current state and local funding programs below.     California – CEC & CARB Programs  Funds like CALeVIP, Clean Transportation Program, and HVIP support EV chargers and medium/heavy-duty electrification.  Local air districts offer additional grants (e.g., BAAQMD, SCAQMD). New York – NYSERDA & NYPA  Offers rebates for public and workplace EV chargers and fleet electrification support. Texas – TERP Program  Grants for fleet electrification, EV infrastructure, and reducing diesel emissions. Finding the right company to support your efforts with these programs is essential to a cost-effective transition to EVs.  

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