On Monday, October 19, 2020, Denver Metro Clean Cities Coalition gathered representatives from utilities, power supply companies, and nonprofit organizations to have an open discussion about the ongoing development of electric vehicle (EV) programs for utilities in Colorado.
Our guests included Mike Frailey from Tri-State Generation & Transmission Association, a major power supplier to rural cooperatives across the State of Colorado. Aaron Carr from Black Hills Energy, and Laura Getts & Jon Beyer from San Isabel Electric Association (SIEA), both of which operate in the south and southeastern areas of the state. Matt Frommer from Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) and Zach Owens from the Colorado Energy Office and the Colorado Electric Vehicle Coalition’s (CEVC) subgroup on Beneficial Electrification joined us to lend their expertise as well.
Our presenters introduced us to both established plans and programs still in-development that support the deployment of EVs and electric vehicle service equipment (EVSE) across Colorado. Tri-State offers suggestions on setting EV-specific rates and EV toolkit called "Choose EV" to all their coop members, which provides basic educational information about EVs and EV models, financial incentives, and charging facts.
Black Hills Energy described the concept behind their Transportation Electrification Plan, which is currently awaiting testimony and approval by the Colorado Public Utility Commission (PUC). Matt Frommer with SWEEP, likewise, provided an overview of Xcel Energy’s Transportation Electrification Plan, which is currently undergoing the approval process with the PUC. Matt also delivered an explanation regarding the benefits of EVs to the electricity grid, including describing the benefit to rate payers, whether they are EV drivers or not.
San Isabel Electric provided background of their ongoing efforts to get more EVs on the road. Including programs that offer incentives to customers for the purchase of an EV, as well as their efforts in working with private partners to install EVSE across their service territory.
Zach Owens, with the CEVC, provided a brief update about the statewide stakeholder group’s efforts to support EVSE deployment, as well as provided updates from the Colorado Energy Office.
The open discussion proved beneficial to all our presenters, as well as the many attendees who represented organizations and other utility coops across the state. Topics including the challenges of funding charging station installation, designing specific EV-charging rates, and navigating peak demand charges were touched on throughout the event.
We are enthusiastic about the engagement in the conversation around utility EV programs and we hope to see more statewide collaboration between both big and small coops in the future.
The opportunity to connect coops across the state and brainstorm ideas about how to improve support of EVs and EVSE is a key part of the work that Denver Metro Clean Cities does. We hope to continue to work with diverse utilities and to bring them together in a collaborative environment again in the near future.
Thank you to all parties who made this event such a great success!
Written by: Sonja Meintsma, Project Manager at Denver Metro Clean Cities Coalition