V2G News Intelligence highlights key new industry reports that help shape the understanding of the potential of bidirectional charging and Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology. This latest study, The Utility Playbook: Turning EV Grid Risk into a $30 Billion Opportunity, authored by ev.energy with research support from The Brattle Group, reinforces a key theme we’ve covered before: the substantial incremental value that emerges when managed charging (V1G) evolves into full bidirectional vehicle-to-grid (V2G). Similar findings were presented in the Union of Concerned Scientists’ analysis of bidirectional charging in California, which we featured in V2G News Volume 1, Series 1.
Managed and Bidirectional Charging: The Path to Full Value
Electric vehicles (EVs) are often seen as a looming challenge for utilities—an immense new load threatening to stress already strained distribution systems. The Utility Playbook reframes this challenge as a generational opportunity. With the right strategies, EVs can evolve from a grid liability into a $30 billion annual cost-avoidance resource by 2035. The report’s central contribution is its Cost-Avoidance Stack, a framework that quantifies the layered savings possible when EVs are actively managed as flexible grid assets.
The report underscores that managed charging (V1G) is the foundation of any EV-grid integration strategy. Left unmanaged, clusters of EVs charging simultaneously could accelerate transformer failures, trigger costly upgrades, and undermine reliability. But through active optimization—automatically shifting load away from peak hours and toward periods of low-cost, low-carbon generation—EVs can function as the engine of virtual power plants (VPPs).
The “ladder of maturity” described in the playbook traces this evolution: unmanaged and behavioral approaches (timers, basic TOU rates) provide modest benefits but risk creating new demand spikes; active managed charging (V1G) delivers the bulk of near-term value by dynamically responding to grid and price signals; and bidirectional charging (V2H/V2G) represents the frontier—unlocking entirely new value streams by enabling EVs not only to shift demand but also to export stored energy back to homes and the grid.
Crucially, the analysis shows that while V1G is necessary to stabilize the system and capture immediate savings, V2G is what doubles the total value. As the report states:
“V2G can unlock more than double the value per EV. Reaching 20% V2G enrollment by 2035 could add another $12 billion in annual grid benefits, effectively doubling the value of your entire managed charging portfolio.”
This portfolio approach—combining behavioral, active, and bidirectional participation—maximizes system benefits. Behavioral programs could yield $5 billion annually by 2035, active managed charging could deliver $13 billion, and V2G, even at just 20% adoption, could add another $12 billion annually. In short, V2G is not a niche add-on but a central driver of the full $30 billion opportunity.
Quantifying the Value: The Cost-Avoidance Stack
At the core of The Utility Playbook is the Cost-Avoidance Stack, a framework developed with The Brattle Group to quantify how managed EV charging reduces costs across the electricity system. The analysis models U.S. grid conditions and EV adoption, using the Edison Electric Institute’s forecast of 78.5 million EVs on the road by 2035, and applies today’s cost benchmarks from markets like PJM, CAISO, and New York.
On a per-vehicle basis, the stack identifies $145–$575 in annual avoided costs per actively managed EV, distributed across six layers of the grid:
| Cost Avoidance Category | Per EV Value | Description |
| Generation Capacity | $60–$140 | By shifting load away from peak hours, EVs reduce the need for expensive peaker plants and capacity contracts. This “virtual power plant” effect directly avoids generation buildout. |
| Transmission | $20–$55 | Flattening system-wide peaks reduces congestion and defers costly high-voltage upgrades, particularly in regions like ERCOT and California where long-distance power flows are constrained. |
| Distribution | $5–$300 | At the neighborhood level, managed charging relieves stress on feeders and transformers, preventing premature failures and deferring upgrades. This layer represents the single most immediate risk of unmanaged EV adoption. |
| Energy Procurement | $100–$180 | Dynamic optimization shifts charging to the cheapest hours in wholesale markets, lowering average procurement costs and aligning with clean energy (e.g., midday solar in California, overnight wind in the Midwest). |
| Ancillary Services | $0–$80 | Fleets of EVs can provide frequency regulation and reserves, matching or outperforming traditional fast-response generators. While U.S. market access is still evolving, European pilots already demonstrate this value. |
| Customer Operations | $7–$10 | Automating EV charging lowers customer service costs by reducing billing complaints and increasing satisfaction through simpler, predictable rate structures. |
Scaled nationally, these stacked values add up to $30 billion in avoided grid costs annually by 2035—equivalent to a 10% reduction in average residential electricity bills.
The model presented in the playbook is intentionally conservative. Rather than speculating about future grid costs, it anchors estimates in 2024 electricity prices, leaving out the higher upgrade expenses that would almost certainly arise under unmanaged EV adoption. To avoid overstating benefits, the analysis also applies a 25 percent “co-optimization discount,” recognizing that at times capturing one source of value—such as shifting load to cheaper wholesale hours—may limit the ability to capture another, like peak capacity relief.
Taken together, the Cost-Avoidance Stack provides utilities and regulators with a rigorous, transparent methodology to assess EV flexibility as a non-wires alternative on par with traditional grid investments.
Implications for Industry Stakeholders
The report offers clear roadmaps for utilities and regulators. For utilities, the first step is immediate action—building pilots, quantifying local value streams, and scaling active managed charging. Program costs should be treated as long-term capital investments rather than short-term expenses, given the durable grid benefits they deliver. As programs mature, utilities can expand to V2G and integrate EVs with other DERs (rooftop solar, home batteries) to form multi-asset VPPs.
For regulators, the message is equally direct: managed charging must be recognized as a core grid resource and valued in Integrated Resource Plans and distribution planning. Performance-based incentives can shift utility motivation away from capital spending toward outcomes like peak reduction and GHG abatement. Open standards and interoperability are essential to prevent vendor lock-in and ensure equitable access across communities.
For automakers and EVSE providers, the report highlights the importance of advancing V2G-capable technologies and open communication protocols. The value of EVs as grid assets depends on seamless integration with utility platforms.
For customers, the opportunity is framed as a “win-win-win.” Drivers can be fairly compensated for the value their vehicles provide, utilities can avoid costly upgrades, and all ratepayers benefit from lower system costs.
