Energy Providers in the Driving Seat of Electric Vehicles: Why Digital Platforms Hold the Key for Scaling EV Adoption

It is rhetoric to mention, humankind has come a long way since inventing the first wheel and its first vehicle. Now, is the era of E-mobility. Era because Electric Vehicles (EVs) are redefining transportation and are progressing faster than expected. This is a critical inflexion point for the multiple industries and life in general.

However, EVs' success kind of depends on our electric providers and how quickly they can create a sustainable ecosystem. This ecosystem will need to support dynamic charging infrastructure, robust electric grid capabilities and address customer experience (CX) challenges to truly accelerate EV adoption amongst those who matter the most. The Customers!

It all starts with delivering convenience, comfort, ease of use and reliability to customers. Customers hold power to augment mass-scale adoption of EVs. This is inarguably a significant driver for the E-mobility transition.

However, sometimes customers are often uninformed about new technologies and practices that can help them save money and energy. EVs are no exception to this pattern.

    -Where can I charge my vehicle while I'm out?
    -Are there incentives and rebates that can help me reduce costs? How can I apply?
    -Will my electricity bill go up?

These are just a few examples of questions and pain points that the customers face while transitioning to an EV. Electricity providers should respond to customer demands and enhance the mobility experience.

How can electric utilities provide solutions at par with the EV demand, ensuring that the customer appetite for E-mobility does not wane? With the power of integrated digital platforms.

Here are some key fundamentals to success for electric providers in delivering a 5-star EV customer experience:

• Education is key to helping consumers plan for EV ownership in a no-pressure environment. Utilities can establish themselves as a trusted energy advisor in the EV journey for customers.
• Pilot and implement AI-ML technologies to balance the load, plan distribution, and grid infrastructure, allowing for expected EV uptake.
• Empower customers throughout their journey – from simplifying EV purchase decisions and enabling best-fit selections to facilitating streamlined EV ownership and transforming the customer experience.
• Focus on real-time charging needs with precise locations, accurate charging time estimates and online payment options to win customer confidence.
• Incentivize customers to actively adopt E-mobility and shift consumption to clean energy with personalized rebates, rate plans, programs and initiatives.
• Understand customer behavior using advanced analytics-enabled solutions to offer customized plans to shift demand across the grid and off-peak hours.
• Ensure all citizens benefit from the transition to clean transportation with EV equity and affordable energy programs for low-income and vulnerable segments of the consumer base.

New technologies are on the horizon to support the influx of EVs. Emerging technologies will allow electric utilities and other players in the EV ecosystem to communicate, share data and collaborate to improve efficiency, build superior customer experience and drive E-Mobility innovation. Some of them grabbing headlines are:

1. Business intelligence and analytics tools will facilitate load forecasting and deliver a better customer experience by identifying and fixing issues before they escalate.
2.  As Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) becomes a viable technology, consumers will be converted into prosumers who will participate in self-generation and consumption of electricity, with surplus energy used to balance the grid.
3.  Designed to be conveniently accessible, integrated digital marketplaces will play a key role in revolutionizing the EV sector as a one-stop platform to assist all kinds of customer requirements associated with E-mobility.
4. Promoting Virtual Power Plants (VPP) using EVs will be the next big frontier in the E-Mobility landscape. VPPs can help balance the electrical supply and demand of electric grids, further support the penetration of renewable energy, and create added value for EVs.
5. New use cases of smart city technologies will help create a path of acceptance and mass adoption by seamlessly integrating EVs while also improving energy efficiency, increasing equity and continually improving citizens' quality of life.

How do you prepare for an EV-dominated future and accelerate electric vehicle adoption?

SEW’s Digital E-mobility platform, powered by the latest technologies, expands the EV ecosystem and connects energy providers, retailers, cities, charging stations and automotive companies with end customers. The platform accelerates adoption, builds superior customer experience (CX), drives digital self-service, and promotes positive change.

To learn more, reach us at [email protected]