ChargeWise Phase 2
Half the cost of scaling your managed EV charging program
Get 50% ev.energy match funding to expand your managed charging program powered by our Eve™ platform, backed by the California Energy Commission. Get in touch to learn more.
Market pricing outperformed time-of-use rates by around 30 points
Phase 1 tested hourly dynamic market price signals combined with automated managed charging, layered onto existing CCA rate structures. It delivered up to 98% of EV charging load off-peak, against the 60% to 70% typically achieved by time-of-use rates alone, with up to 30% of charging shifted into the midday solar window. Drivers saved around $200 a year.
With the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) requiring major utilities to offer optional dynamic rates by 2027, ChargeWise goes beyond a proposal and delivers a working playbook that satisfies the CPUC mandate.
Three things that make this work at program scale
Rate layer, not rate redesign
While Eve can work with a dynamic rate, it isn’t required for this program. The day-ahead CAISO market signal used for ChargeWise sits on top of a customer’s existing rate through submetering and helps shift customers’ charging to the cheapest time of day automatically without customer intervention. No rate redesign, no regulatory filing to launch, and no exposure for customers who cannot shift their whole-home load. The signal targets the EV, not the household.
Equity-led enrollment
More than 1,000 customers enrolled in ChargeWise within the first month of the program launch, with over 50% from disadvantaged communities. Aligning incentives with the EV rather than whole-home usage expands program reach and equity.
Regulator-ready
Funded by the CEC’s REDWDS grant, recognized by AESP for innovation, and aligned to the CPUC’s 2027 dynamic rate mandate, this program is designed to scale and serve all Californians. Additionally, every dispatch event is settlement-grade on ev.energy’s Eve™ platform, so the program evidence is there when utility program managers need to defend it.
Phase 1 results
Where the money goes
50% of driver acquisition costs
Marketing, outreach, and enrollment campaigns, including the harder-to-reach segments.
50% of driver incentive costs
The bill credits and payments that get customers to enroll and stay enrolled.
50% of customer onboarding costs
Getting drivers connected and active on the platform.
$1 million in shared product development
Phase 2 includes dedicated CEC-funded product development, including work on vehicle-to-everything (V2X) charging. Those savings pass through to program partners.
Match funding is available to California CCAs and utilities joining the program. Get in touch for details.
Designed to benefit everyone, including harder-to-reach populations
Phase 2 carries two requirements across the enrolled driver base. At least 50% of enrolled drivers must live in a CEC-designated disadvantaged community, defined by census tract rather than household income. At least 50% must be on a dynamic electricity rate or an equivalent dynamic signal, which the ChargeWise program and Eve platform provide.
Both are program requirements rather than targets, and they are the reason the match funding exists. The grant structure is designed to facilitate effective outreach to disadvantaged communities and enable equitable participation in the program, delivering statewide economic and environmental benefits.
Reach is the other half of it. Eve connects to a driver’s vehicle or charger rather than requiring a particular brand of hardware, giving modelled coverage of approximately 95% of US EV-owning households through vehicle or charger integrations combined. A program that can only enroll customers who bought the right car cannot meet a 50% disadvantaged community target.
Dynamic signals and dynamic rates are not the same thing
A dynamic rate is not required
A dynamic rate is a retail tariff. The price a customer is billed changes hour to hour, which means rate design, regulatory approval, and a billing system that can carry it.
A dynamic signal carries the same hourly information about grid conditions and wholesale prices, but it drives the charging schedule and the incentives alone, rather than the full bill. The customer stays on their existing rate.
Eve supports both. Where a dynamic rate pilot exists, we optimize against it. Where one does not, we use the dynamic signal developed during Phase 1 to reach the same outcome. That is what makes this launchable inside a program cycle rather than a rate case.
See what ChargeWise looks like in your territory
Stephanie Leach leads ev.energy’s work with California CCAs and utilities. Book 20 to 30 minutes and she will walk through program design, the enrollment pathways that fit your customer base, and how the match funding applies to your costs.
Book a call with Stephanie Leach
Phase 1 was led by MCE and Silicon Valley Clean Energy with ev.energy, funded by the California Energy Commission’s REDWDS initiative, and won the 2026 AESP Energy Award for Innovations in Technology.
The 98% off-peak figure is based on a combination of California programs with a dynamic pricing tier on ev.energy’s Eve platform. The 60% to 70% time-of-use figure is based on previous ev.energy research covering time-of-use participants across the US and the UK.
Coverage figures are modelled from 2025 US EV and home charger market shares and Eve’s integration portfolio. They describe technical reach among EV-owning households, not enrolled user counts.
Disadvantaged community status is determined by the California Energy Commission by census tract, not by individual household income.