The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), working with leading EV deployment practitioners, has published nine principles to close a structural gap: vehicle electrification is outpacing utilities’ ability to energize the charging infrastructure that supports it. Left unaddressed, this mismatch risks higher electricity prices, slower EV adoption, and the erosion of public support for electrification.
The principles are organized around two questions. First, how should vehicles, charging infrastructure, and the grid be planned together? Treat them as one integrated system (Principle 1), build flexibility into both charging demand and grid supply (2), and hold utilities to a modernized “obligation to serve” that includes timely energization of charging infrastructure (3).
Second, how can charging infrastructure actually become available on time? This is where the document gets practical: prioritize “no-regrets” locations where demand and capacity align (4), design infrastructure that adapts to grid signals rather than assuming fixed full-power connections (5), use dynamic, grid-reflective rates to steer charging to available capacity (6), share planning data and tools between utilities and fleet operators (7), favor “first-ready, first-served” allocation over speculative queueing (8), and commit to long-term distribution upgrades planned years ahead of need (9).
The framework explicitly excludes economy-wide demand planning, new generation, and renewables integration — it targets large commercial fleets only.
Are these the right measures?
The diagnosis is sound and matches what’s visible in depot electrification today: interconnection timelines, not vehicle cost, are now the binding constraint. The emphasis on flexibility (Principles 2, 5, 6) is the strongest part of the package — non-firm connections, battery buffering, and time-of-use charging are proven, deployable tools that don’t wait for grid reinforcement.
Two gaps stand out. First, the principles assume utilities and fleet operators can reach data-sharing and capacity-disclosure agreements (7) without addressing the asymmetry in who bears the cost of being wrong. A fleet operator that under-builds based on optimistic capacity data has more to lose than a utility that overpromises. Second, “first-ready, first-served” (8) risks favoring large, well-capitalized fleets that can produce financial guarantees quickly, reinforcing exactly the small-versus-large divide already visible in depot electrification. The principles don’t address how smaller operators get a fair queue and cost position.
Overall, this is a credible coordination framework rather than a funding or equity mechanism. It will help if regulators adopt it, but it doesn’t, by itself, address who pays for upgrades or how smaller fleets avoid being structurally disadvantaged in the connection queue.
Walther Ploos van Amstel.
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