Committees & Task Forces

ATE fosters collaboration, education, and intelligence sharing through our committees and task forces. These cohorts bring together members around key topics and issues that impact transportation electrification and the policy-making that informs the development of charging infrastructure.

Policy & Regulatory Committee

State and local policymaking plays a decisive role in creating the marketplace for electric vehicle charging infrastructure development. It is essential for state and local policymakers and utility regulators to be well-informed about transportation electrification because their decisions directly impact the accessibility, affordability, and reliability of EV charging infrastructure.

ATE’s Policy Committee brings together cross-industry transportation electrification professionals to engage in the policy-making process and foster a supportive environment for transportation electrification, promote innovation and investment in infrastructure development, and facilitate the transition to a cleaner, more sustainable transportation system.

  • Share state, regional, and national intelligence on policy developments among our members;
  • Foster a community of practice by sharing lessons learned and best practices;
  • Inform program planning, design, and implementation strategy among our members;
  • Conduct policy analysis on proposed legislation and rulemakings that impact the market for EV infrastructure development;
  • Draft public comments and respond to requests for information from state and federal entities regarding transportation policy development; and
  • Provide education and technical assistance to policymakers and regulators as well as opportunities to engage with the transportation electrification industry.

Committee Chairs

  • Christopher Budzynski, Exelon
  • Julia Gold, National Grid

Staff Lead

  • Elizabeth Turnbull, Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs

Technical & Open Standards Committee

Cross-industry collaboration is essential for accelerating the development and adoption of electric transportation technology. Bringing together the different actors in the charging experience - vehicle OEMs, utilities, charging companies, software developers, site hosts, fleet operators and other industry players - increases shared understanding of stakeholder needs and enables faster advancements in technology, infrastructure deployment and smart grid integration, all of which are critical for market growth. This collaboration ultimately enhances consumer satisfaction by delivering reliable, user-friendly solutions that drive the widespread adoption of electric vehicles.

ATE’s Technical Committee brings members together to learn about and share experiences with various technical aspects of EV charging, identify prevailing or prospective issues in how these technologies integrate with other systems and stakeholder needs, and develop strategies to address these issues. Priority topics of the Technical Committee include but are not limited to the following.

  • Software Open Standards and Interoperability Protocols
  • Hardware Standardization
  • Weights & Measures
  • Vehicle to Grid Integration
  • Managed Charging

Committee Chairs

  • John Markowitz, New York Power Authority

Staff Lead

  • Michael Krauthamer, Senior Advisor

ATE Task Forces

In addition to our two standing Policy and Technical committees, ATE has been tasked to form additional specialized working groups or task forces that drill down on a particular niche issue or challenge. These issues are typically thorny or complex issues that slow or discourage EV adoption, impede EV infrastructure deployment, or reflect an ongoing need for policy and regulatory reform that must evolve as transportation becomes increasingly electrified. These task forces meet separately from the two committees with their own specific objectives, meeting cadence and deliverables that are updated every 1-2 years depending on the industry needs and developments.

Education and Outreach

Description: The Education and Outreach Task Force was formed as a joint effort of ATE, Plug in America (PIA) and EEI (Edison Electric Institute) to share best practices and information regarding how utilities can best support consumer awareness of electric vehicle (EV) models and charging station infrastructure with particular emphasis on the role of the utilities in raising consumer awareness. The 2025 focus of the working group will look at the evolving role of utilities in educating and engaging consumers on electric transportation and the models and best practices for those approaches, including managed charging.

Task Force Chair(s)
  • Katherine Stainken, Electric Power Research Institute
  • Ingrid Malmgren, Plug In America
ATE Staff Lead
  • Wesley Holmes, Director of Communications

Federal Affairs

The Federal Affairs Task Force works to ascertain the structure and priorities of proposed and established federal infrastructure funding for EVs and EV infrastructure. Task force leads and members work to assess proposed and established funding mechanisms and examine how utilities, OEMs, and vendors can leverage these resources toward EV programs at the State level. This group also serves to increase ATE member awareness and understanding of shifts in federal policy and their implications for state and national EV infrastructure development.

Task Force Chair(s)
  • Lincoln Wood, Southern Company
  • Josh Cohen, SWTCH
ATE Staff Lead
  • Elizabeth Turnbull, Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs

Interconnection

The Interconnection Task Force was established to examine barriers or points of friction in connecting EV infrastructure to the grid and develop strategies to streamline process issues and expedite infrastructure development. In 2025 the task force is focused on supporting proactive infrastructure planning and investment strategies to get in front of pending demand rather than adding to the queue, as well as identifying strategies to expedite energization timelines.

Task Force Chair(s)
  • Rosalie Barcinas, Southern California Edison
  • Kathy Knoop, General Motors
ATE Staff Lead
  • Elizabeth Turnbull, Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs

Vehicle to Grid Integration

The Vehicle to Grid Integration (VGI) task force works to identify the technological, regulatory, and market challenges to VGI technologies and develop strategies to expand its adoption and value to the grid. This group works to develop educational resources on VGI for commissions and provide a forum to bridge the gap between OEM visions for their business cases and the utility view on its viability to get it to scale.

Task Force Chair(s)
  • Kevin Schwain, EnergyHub
ATE Staff Lead
  • Michael Krauthamer, Senior Advisor

Rate Design

The Rate Design Task Force examines the evolution of rate design and demand charge structures for electric vehicles. The group works to develop consistent high-level principles for rate design consideration and draft narrative language to support member utilities EV proposals and engagement with intervenors. The task force developed two white papers that continue to shape state rate design planning efforts nationwide.

Task Force Chairs
  • Erick Karlen, Pacific Gas and Electric
ATE Staff Lead
  • Bruce Edelston, Senior Advisor