Fleet Electrification Moves from Pilot to Platform: What Utilities Are Learning Now
By Karl Popham, Transportation Electrification Consultant | 3-minute read
Fleet electrification is quickly shifting from isolated pilots to structured programs, but the maturity of utility approaches varies widely across the industry.
Recent EV Leadership Council discussions highlight that school bus electrification and light-duty utility fleet conversions2 are currently the top two areas utilities are actively researching or already advancing through pilot or production programs. These segments are emerging as early “wins” due to predictable routes, centralized depots, and strong alignment with public sector electrification goals.
At the same time, fleet program readiness remains uneven, with 54% of utilities not yet offering or actively considering a fleet charging infrastructure program, signaling a significant gap between fleet interest and enabling infrastructure strategy, despite a broader common goal to facilitate widespread adoption1 of EVs.
This gap is particularly notable given the complexity of emerging fleet roles. The 2025 Electric Vehicle Industry Survey1 found that while 100% of utilities provide the power, their involvement in fleet electrification varies significantly beyond that: 34% serve as the operator, 37% as the owner, and 24% as the site host, underscoring the lack of a consistent utility business model for fleet charging services.
Despite these inconsistencies, leading practices are beginning to emerge.
For example, PSEG Long Island recently presented its Fleet Advisory Service program2, a complimentary offering designed to help commercial customers understand how to begin electrification planning. The service includes early-stage assessments such as bill impact analysis, cost savings estimates, rate comparisons, and identification of eligible incentives, helping customers move from interest to actionable planning.
Similarly, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) advanced its EV Fleet Program2 designed to accelerate adoption for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and off-road equipment, combining incentives, structured electrification pathways, customer insights, and targeted marketing strategies.
Real-world implementation insights continue to shape the industry conversation. In a webinar, Jennifer Walls discussed the City of Austin’s transition to an all-electric municipal fleet1, highlighting practical barriers, key lessons learned, and the evolving role of utilities in supporting large-scale fleet transformation.
Taken together, these examples point to a clear trend: successful fleet electrification programs are not solely about infrastructure deployment. They are increasingly about advisory services, customer enablement, cross-functional coordination, and flexible business models that reflect the utility’s evolving role in transportation electrification.
1Requires Insight Center Membership | 2Requires Electric Vehicle Leadership Council Membership
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Karl Popham is recognized as a leading voice in utility innovation and transportation electrification with more than 25 years of experience helping utilities develop strategies and programs that advance emerging technologies, electric vehicles and grid modernization. He currently supports the Electric Vehicle Leadership Council at Chartwell Inc., where he facilitates collaboration on transportation electrification, charging infrastructure, customer programs, fleet electrification and regulatory trends.
Previously, Karl led transportation electrification and emerging technology initiatives at Austin Energy, where he was instrumental in developing their award-winning EV programs, smart grid initiatives and innovation strategy, while also serving as a principal investigator on numerous federal, state and philanthropic grant-funded projects.
