ev.energy to Scale EV VPP to 79,000 Drivers in California with $22M from the California Energy Commission and Partners

PALO ALTO, CA, UNITED STATES, October 20, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — ev.energy, the company behind Eve™, the full-lifecycle multi-DER orchestration platform, today announced it has secured $11M from the California Energy Commission (CEC) to deliver Phase 2 of its ChargeWise California program. With partner funds matched by the CEC, the $22M total budget will enable a nine-fold expansion of the program, taking it from the current 9,000 EV driver pilot cohort enrolled today to a target of 79,000 total customers in the program by the end of 2028.

The majority of the award is available as match funding to utilities, California Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs), and other partners, covering 50% of user acquisition, incentive, and onboarding costs. $1M is allocated to product development, including work on vehicle-to-everything (V2X) charging, with the savings passed through to program partners.

ChargeWise is ev.energy’s program under the CEC’s Responsive, Easy Charging Products with Dynamic Signals (REDWDS) initiative, awarded in 2023. ev.energy is one of two Phase 1 recipients selected to advance to Phase 2. Phase 1 ran with CCAs MCE and Silicon Valley Clean Energy and won the 2026 AESP Energy Award for Innovations in Technology. In Phase 2, ChargeWise will also be supporting incentives through Clean Power Alliance’s EV SmartCharge program.

Why This Matters for California Ratepayers
California electricity rates are high and rising, while growing EV adoption risks intensifying peak demand between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. Shifting EV charging to midday captures abundant, low-cost solar energy, directly lowering wholesale procurement costs for CCAs, limiting solar curtailment, and putting downward pressure on rates.

ChargeWise optimizes charging schedules using day-ahead CAISO signals on supply, demand, and price. ev.energy’s Eve platform aligns charging with the least expensive time of day without requiring customers to intervene or change their electric rate. Unlike dynamic rates, which require complex regulatory approval and billing changes, Eve uses dynamic market pricing signals to develop daily charging schedules and incentives under existing rate structures.

What Phase 1 Proved
Phase 1 tested dynamic pricing signals combined with active managed charging on the Eve platform, delivered with MCE and Silicon Valley Clean Energy’s programs. Results included:
Up to 98% of charging load delivered off-peak, versus 60% to 70% typically achieved by time-of-use (TOU) rates alone and 90% by pairing TOU with managed charging.
Up to 30% of charging shifted to solar-rich midday hours, absorbing surplus renewable generation.
Customer savings of $10 to $20 a month, around $200 a year on average, compared with TOU rates alone, with up to $40 a month provided to customers on MCE’s dynamic tier.
More than 1,000 customers enrolled during the first month, with over 50% living in disadvantaged communities.

Dynamic whole-home rates can be challenging when users cannot shift basic household usage or easily identify the cheapest time of day for large-load tasks. ChargeWise created an EV-specific submetering add-on to existing rates, enabling high adoption, especially in disadvantaged communities.

Phase 2: Equity and Affordability at Scale
Phase 2 requires that at least 50% of enrolled drivers reside in disadvantaged communities, and at least 50% must participate through the dynamic pricing signal.

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.

Additionally, Eve is uniquely positioned to meet the program’s equity goals by connecting to approximately 95% of US EV-owning households through vehicle or charger integrations combined, rather than requiring a specific hardware brand.

“Managed charging has become one of the more practical affordability tools available to us. Phase 1 showed our customers could save real money simply by automating charging at different times, and that the design worked for households across our service area, not just those already equipped with solar and batteries. Phase 2 lets us build on that with more cost share, which matters when every CCA is balancing transportation electrification against other community priorities.” — Alice Havenar-Daughton, Vice President of Customer Programs, MCE

“Los Angeles and Ventura counties are at the front edge of EV adoption, and that load has to be managed if it is going to stay affordable for our customers. Our EV SmartCharge program shifts charging into cleaner, cheaper hours automatically, without asking drivers to change their routines. Support from ChargeWise reduces what the program costs us to run and to grow, and has allowed us to consider new and innovative structures to increase ongoing customer engagement.” — Joanne O’Neill, Senior Director, Customer Programs, Clean Power Alliance

What Happens Next
EV drivers in California can now register interest in ChargeWise.

“Phase 1 proved dynamic signals move EV charging at scale automatically, enabling every EV to be a dynamically controlled grid asset that responds in real time to the local distribution grid conditions, and enables better use of more affordable and cleaner sources of generation. Phase 2 makes that permanent by co-funding CCAs and energy providers to expand access in underserved communities. We are building ChargeWise as long-term grid infrastructure that will continue operating well beyond CEC grant funding.” — Nick Woolley, CEO, ev.energy

Scaling a California-wide VPP requires collaboration across the whole industry. The program will include active collaboration with the state’s investor-owned utilities, CCAs, and other energy providers, as well as major driver associations and other businesses in the EV supply chain that might want to extend rewards and benefits to their customers. CAISO and the CPUC will also be engaged to ensure the value of the program can be maximized for the system and all ratepayers, both now and in the future.

California energy providers and businesses who are interested in collaborating on ChargeWise can book a call with Stephanie Leach, Senior Business Development Manager, to learn about program design and match funding.

Notes to the Editor
The 98% off-peak energy figure combines California programs using dynamic pricing tiers on Eve.
The 60%–70% off-peak TOU-only metric reflects ev.energy research across US and UK participants.
The 90% off-peak figure for TOU plus managed charging averages ev.energy’s live California programs.
Coverage metrics are modeled from 2025 US EV and charger market shares

James Pratley
ev.energy
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