$20M Award to Conduct Evaluation of California EV Infrastructure Spending

Utilities invest over $700 million to install electrical “make-ready” infrastructure and charging stations throughout California.

WALTHAM, Mass., March 18, 2021—Cadmus was awarded a prime contract of $20 million to conduct a third-party evaluation of electric vehicle infrastructure spending at four California utilities: Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, Pacific Gas and Electric, and Liberty Utilities. These utilities are investing more than $700 million to install electrical “make-ready” infrastructure and charging stations throughout California, the largest expenditure of its kind in the United States. The utility spending also includes charging at California parks and beaches, fast charging stations, vehicle-to-grid charging, and a unique, major focus on charging for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.

To support the utilities in achieving their project goals, Cadmus assembled a team that includes partners from Energetics, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), ZMAssociates, Davenergy Solutions, and academic advisors from UC Davis and Arizona State University.

The Cadmus team’s approach to this project marries decades of experience in energy program evaluation with industry-leading subject matter expertise in the growing field of transportation electrification. Cadmus will draw on its extensive capabilities in advanced analytics, including its proprietary transportation electrification analytics modeling platform, to deliver comprehensive insights that reveal the impact of California’s investment in transportation electrification. Furthermore, the platform will provide the utilities with ongoing access to user-friendly, online data dashboards that unlock their ability to review program performance in real-time. Cadmus’ approach will ensure continuous improvement by providing rapid feedback, enabling the utilities to implement an adaptive management mode of delivering these pioneering market transformation programs.

The project will generate a wide set of insights on vehicle electrification, including net emission impacts, grid impacts, equity, petroleum displacement, and consumer acceptance. Most notably, Cadmus will measure the market transformation and acceleration created from the programmatic investments, enabling more efficient and effective electric vehicle initiatives in the future.

“Electric vehicle deployment is a key strategy in the drive to address climate change,” said Terry Fry, Cadmus senior vice president of energy services. “We are honored to support our clients on this monumental evaluation, which gives Cadmus a front-row seat to one of the most exciting electric vehicle projects in the country.”