From Burden to Backbone: How EVs are the Cornerstone of Grid Reliability and Energy Affordability

Utilities across the U.S. are under pressure like never before. In July 2025, peak demand broke records twice in just one month, underscoring the unprecedented strain on U.S. power grids. 

The surge in energy demand is largely driven by two powerful sources: the rapid growth of data centers and the sweeping electrification of vehicles, heating, and buildings. 

This growth comes at a time of deep reliability and affordability concerns. Transformer shortages, extended interconnection queues, and mounting customer frustration over rate increases are destabilizing the system. 

In a world increasingly dependent on electricity, rising costs and recurring blackouts are simply not an option. 

EVs: A Strain or a Solution? 

Electric vehicles (EVs) are now mainstream in the U.S. From delivery vans on city streets to Chevy Blazers in suburban school runs, EVs are visible everywhere. Their growth is only accelerating, as more than 78 million EVs are expected to enter U.S. roads by 2030. 

Roughly 80% of EV charging happens at home, mostly in the evening – overlapping with peak demand and not necessarily with renewable output. This is already having a strain on local infrastructure and energy supply.

If tens of millions of EVs all charge simultaneously, it will force upgrades and the use of costly peaking plants – undermining both the environmental benefits of EV adoption and the affordability goals that utilities are under mounting pressure to meet.  

The good news is: EVs don’t have to be a liability. They can be a critical grid asset, thanks to managed charging technology that ensures vehicles charge at the best possible time for the grid, and lowest cost period for the customer. In fact, more than 800 utilities across the United States have already reached or even surpassed the      “EV tipping point” of 5% system-wide adoption – where managed charging programs deliver greater system benefits than their implementation costs. 

The Unexpected Ally: Managed Charging Turns EVs into a Powerful Grid Asset

For decades, utilities have met rising demand with new supply – spending over $120 billion on new capacity in the past decade alone, made up of predominantly gas-fired generation. But there’s a cost-effective alternative: Virtual Power Plants (VPPs). 

VPPs aggregate distributed, customer-owned devices, such as EVs, batteries, and solar, into dispatchable grid resources. Compared to traditional generation, VPPs are up to 60% less expensive and can be deployed in months rather than years. 

At the heart of this opportunity is managed charging. While Time-of-Use (TOU) rates incentivize customers to shift energy use, they are not available everywhere and can create harmful secondary peaks. Active managed charging offers a superior solution, automatically scheduling EVs to charge at the lowest cost for drivers and most efficient times for the grid – so drivers wake up with a full battery, and the grid avoids expensive peaks, including secondary peaks. 

By coordinating when EVs draw power, utilities can turn vehicles into flexible, grid-responsive assets. With two-way communication between EVs and those operating the grid, charging can be scheduled for the lowest cost, cleanest hours – reducing peak demand, easing infrastructure bottlenecks, and cutting customer bills. 

This is not speculative. It’s proven and happening today. 

Avoiding 'Death by Pilot' 

Active managed charging represents a critical untapped opportunity. Each actively managed EV can deliver up to $575 in savings annually for utilities, translating into about $200 back into the pockets of every U.S. household. Calculations show this can unlock up to $30 billion in avoided costs every year for utilities by 2035. And it can get even better – integrating vehicle-to-grid bidirectional charging technology can more than double the savings to over $1,300 per EV. Simply put, this is not an opportunity we can afford to ignore. 

More than 35 managed charging programs across North America have proven the concept. These programs consistently deliver measurable peak load reduction, system cost savings, and critically, customer satisfaction. They’re more than pilots – they are blueprints.  

What happens next is critical. The industry cannot afford to get trapped in “death by pilot” – perpetually testing, never scaling. The tidal wave of new demand from EVs, heat pumps, and data centers is already forming. Waiting until it makes landfall will result in billions in unavoidable infrastructure costs and higher bills for households.  

The case for action is compelling: widespread managed charging could save utilities up to $30 billion annually by 2035 across the U.S., all while reducing household bills – irrespective of their EV ownership – by as much as 10%. All of this can be achieved while strengthening reliability and advancing decarbonization goals.

A Call to Utilities 

The U.S. grid is entering a new era. Utilities are under the spotlight, while peak demand is soaring, infrastructure is aging, severe weather is intensifying, and customers are becoming increasingly intolerant of higher costs. Utilities must embrace every available lever to maintain affordability and, critically, reliability – managed charging delivers exactly that. 

EVs may seem like the unlikely ally in this battle. However, orchestrated correctly as a VPP, they can become a cornerstone for a smarter, more resilient, and more affordable energy future for all. The time to move is now, before the wave of energy demand becomes an uncontrollable flood.