California and Australia Push Charging Into Utility Operations

California and Australia are moving EV charging into utility-led deployment, shifting the market’s bottlenecks from permits to commissioning, grid coordination, and regulated site execution.

Updated

What is this trend?

California and Australia are shifting EV charging from a pure permitting challenge into a utility-operated deployment model, making commissioning, network coordination, and regulated site access the new bottlenecks.

  • California laws speed charger inspections but tighten focus on energization, trenching, and electrical upgrades.
  • AB 1820 and related rules lower barriers for multifamily and mixed-use charging.
  • Australia’s draft rules would let DNSPs own and run kerbside chargers in underserved areas.
  • Open-access, network-led sites could create new regulated pipelines for chargers.
  • Winning operators will optimize commissioning, utility coordination, and time-to-energization.

What’s the latest?

California’s 2024 EV-charging laws are now pushing the bottleneck into inspection, commissioning, and the site work needed to energize chargers.

Open MCS 3.2, utility-style charging, and backend control reshape network economics

How it developed

  1. Reservable Heavy-Duty Hubs, Trip-Orchestrated Charging, and Interoperability Become the New Gatekeepers
    • Charging Growth Shifts from Permitting to Execution

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