2026 Event Schedule

Duke Energy and Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) are both using advanced planning and AI to prepare their grids for the rising demand from electric vehicles (EVs). Two separate presentations will outline how doing so has made a difference for each company's teams and customers.

Duke Energy's Fleet Electrification Planning (FEP) tool uses machine learning to create repeatable and customizable projections of future power needs from commercial vehicles. This tool helps Duke employees quickly assess the impact of fleet electrification on specific circuits and substations, assisting in discussions with regulators about rate cases. The goal is to automatically project power demand for key customers, which frees up time for direct customer engagement, provides reliable estimates for capacity planners, and helps customers plan their future EV charging infrastructure.

Over at PG&E, the organization conducted an electrification impact study that assessed how the entire grid needs to evolve to support California's electrification goals. This comprehensive study analyzes the costs of grid upgrades, the adoption of distributed energy resources (DERs) like rooftop solar and battery storage—with a focus on disadvantaged communities—and the role of flexible energy use in managing increased demand. It specifically examines the implications of transportation electrification and the growing impact of EVs on grid infrastructure. By using advanced modeling and scenario planning, PG&E aims to guide smarter, more equitable infrastructure investments in a way others can learn from.

The presentations will detail how teams at both organizations are using AI to automatically project power demand for key customers, facilitate planning for future commercial EV charging and enable more equitable infrastructure investments.