3 Ways to Cut EV Charger Energization Delays

Utilities, grid operators and regulators across the country are working to accommodate more electric vehicle (EV) charging, yet many commercial EV charger projects face a frustrating bottleneck: energization.

To complete energization—connecting chargers to receive power from the utility grid—developers often spend months or even years working with utilities. This involves reviewing and confirming distribution infrastructure capacity, designing new or upgraded service infrastructure, securing easements, scheduling utility work and clearing final inspections. 

As EV adoption grows, these delays in energizing chargers need to be addressed. 

The good news: utilities, developers and regulators already have tools to fix this. 

Here are three practical ideas to speed EV charging station energization without compromising safety or grid reliability. 

1. Integrate energy management solutions into EV charging stations 

One of the most common reasons commercial EV charging station projects stall is limited capacity on the upstream distribution circuit, often due to existing capacity allocations or the large load required by the charging station itself. 

To regain some control over timelines, developers should consider: 

• Integrating energy storage as a “buffer” between the EV charging station and the grid to flatten the charging site’s energy demand.
• Leveraging charging systems with dynamic power allocation to more efficiently use available capacity.
• Implementing load management strategies tailored to the site-specific operating requirements to meet charging demand reliably and cost-effectively. 

Not all energy management solutions are viable for every site. However, when one or more of these solutions is deployed, developers can reduce the amount of capacity needed from the utility and avoid delays from lengthy utility reviews or costly infrastructure upgrades. 

Energy management solutions can add significant costs to the project (both up front and ongoing), but they are often offset by reductions in other operational costs. 

Example: Costco partnered with Electric Era to install three dual-port 200-kW DC fast chargers with only 200 kVA of available capacity, in just seven weeks. Electric Era was able to do this by integrating battery-buffered charging and an energy management system with the chargers, allowing Costco to bypass the utility infrastructure constraints and achieve a rapid energization timeline.

2. Use managed or flexible connection programs 

Utilities can also speed charger deployment by allowing certain sites to be energized before all distribution infrastructure upgrades are completed. Under this type of managed or flexible connection model, charge point operators (CPOs) agree to temporary operating conditions, such as capped demand or scheduled charging, until permanent upgrades are ready. This approach works by: 

• Allowing sites to energize under partial or full load using existing capacity, often bringing a charging station online months sooner.
• Establishing parameters for how much load curtailment must occur during periods of peak load.
• Leveraging energy management systems to automate the load curtailment process in alignment with established parameters and actual feeder conditions. 

Flexible connections are especially valuable for sites facing yearslong waits for distribution upgrades. Without them, customers must delay energization, even when the grid could support full load most of the time. Offering this option allows utilities to energize sites months or years sooner and increase infrastructure utilization without compromising reliability. 

Example: Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) Flex Connect pilot in California allows large charging stations to connect early if they agree to temporary operating conditions to stay within existing feeder capacity. The Environmental Defense Fund has called flexible interconnections one of the most promising tools for balancing speed and reliability, with various CPOs already taking advantage of PG&E’s pilot. Most recently, in a February 2026 Decision, the California Public Utilities Commission directs both PG&E and Southern California Edison (SCE) to establish a new tariff that transitions PG&E’s pilot into a standard offering.  

3. Reduce and/or streamline other regulatory barriers 

Even after a utility approves the new load and reserves capacity for an EV charging station, other barriers can derail energization. These include environmental reviews, weights and measures inspections and easements.  

State agencies should work closely with local governments to ensure: 

• Accurate scoping of environmental reviews to address and mitigate environmental impacts and minimize unnecessary delays.
• Bundling weights and measures inspections with other inspections (permitting, utility, etc.) to avoid surprise red-tagging that delays energization or forces operations to pause.
• Flexibility in certifications and technical requirements for the use of load control methods in the energization process.
• Improved distribution planning efforts to more nimbly anticipate changes in load from distributed energy resources (e.g., EVs, heat pumps, battery energy storage), as well as data centers and other large commercial loads.  

By addressing these regulatory barriers, state and local governments can speed up energization timelines.  

Example: In a December 2025 Resolution, the California Public Utilities Commission approved a framework for PG&E, SCE, and San Diego Gas & Electric to consider large pending loads in the distribution planning process. This approval marks a key milestone in modernizing the distribution planning process in California, allowing these utilities to better anticipate load growth through scenario-based planning. This increases the likelihood of distribution upgrades being completed ahead of new EV charging projects, helping available grid capacity better keep up with new load. 

Bringing it all together 

Faster grid connections do not require entirely new systems. The tools already exist: advanced energy management, flexible interconnection models and more coordinated regulatory processes. What’s needed is a willingness to deploy them intentionally and at scale. 

Together, these approaches allow utilities and developers to make smarter use of existing capacity, reduce avoidable delays and bring charging infrastructure online sooner—without compromising safety or reliability.  

The EV future is coming fast. With the right tools and coordination, charger connections can keep pace.