A Driving Force for Change: Positioning Your Utility for the Growing Electric Vehicle Market
Join industry experts in a panel discussion on the challenges and opportunities utilities face with the growing popularity of electric vehicles (EVs). With 71% of Americans expressing interest in EV ownership, the discussion will cover topics like customer engagement, process streamlining, EV charging infrastructure, and load management. Explore strategies to increase customer engagement, adapt to electrification needs, optimize charging infrastructure, and implement load management techniques such as managed charging and rate design. Discover how utilities can navigate the EV market transformation effectively.
EMACS this year coincides with National Drive Electric Week, a nationwide celebration to raise awareness of the many benefits of all-electric and plug-in hybrid cars, trucks, motorcycles, and more.
Moderator:
Kathy Knoop – Manager, EV Stakeholder Solutions, General Motors Energy
Kathy Knoop is the manager of EV Stakeholder Solutions at General Motors within the GM Energy team. Her work is focused on EV charging infrastructure, education, and engagement, charging products and solutions, the Ultium Charge 360 experience, and related go-to-market strategies comprising a rapidly expanding EV ecosystem. In this role Kathy is responsible for working with utility companies from across the U.S. on partnerships with GM that will support EV customer charging programs from home L2 to public L2 and DCFC.
Panelists:
Burrell G Kilmer, Manager of EV Strategy, SRP
Burrell is the Manager of EV Strategy at Salt River Project, or SRP. Burrell’s background includes a wealth of senior leadership experience in the consulting and utility industries, at companies that include Guidehouse, Accenture, Baltimore Gas & Electric and others. Burrell has worked on advancing a variety of clean energy efforts, including developing strategies related to demand side management, distributed energy resources, renewables, hydrogen, and electric vehicles.
Camila Martins-Bekat, TEP
Ms. Martins-Bekat, as the Principal of Beneficial Electrification at TEP, spearheads the development and execution of the company’s transportation electrification strategy. By fostering strong partnerships and collaborating with businesses, local governments, and key stakeholders, Ms. Martins-Bekat strategically positions TEP to effectively embrace and capitalize on the expanding electric vehicle market and associated opportunities. Her efforts aim to ensure that the benefits of electrification are accessible to diverse customer segments and that the utility remains at the forefront of the EV revolution, delivering sustainable solutions and driving the adoption of electric vehicles in the communities they serve.
Karen Apple, Electric Vehicle Program Manager, City of Phoenix
Karen Apple has over a decade of experience and knowledge in public policy issues and project management related to transportation and the environment. Karen joined the City of Phoenix Office of Sustainability, as the Electric Vehicle Program Manager in March 2020 and manages the planning and program development of projects that support the accelerated adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (EVs). This work includes: developing EV education and awareness initiatives, implementing the installation of charging stations for public, and City workplace and fleet use, implementing EV-ready building codes; coordinating with City departments to integrate EVs into the fleet, and continuing to collaborate with other local, regional, and state stakeholders and utility partners to increase EV adoption and decrease air quality emissions.
Steve Conte, EV Project Manager, Electric Mobility, Eversource Energy
Steve Conte has been working at Eversource Energy for four years as Project Manager for Eversource’s EV Make Ready Programs in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, which support commercial charging infrastructure at customer sites. Acting as the liaison between customers, contractors, and utility, he has helped complete successful EV charging installations at over 450 different sites across Eversource’s electric service territory.
