Planning for Success – Utility Managed Charging Case Studies

Erika H. Myers joined SEPA in 2015 and leads SEPA’s transportation electrification research. She has 16 years of experience in the clean energy sector and specializes in the nexus between the grid, electric vehicles, and renewable energy.

Erika currently serves on an electric vehicle (EV) steering committee for the U.S. Department of Energy and is an EV advisor for the National Energy Foundation, a non-profit organization developing curriculum to increase EV literacy in K-12 schools. She was awarded the 2019 Public Utility Fortnightly “Fortnightly Under 40” award for her work on vehicle-grid integration.

Prior to joining SEPA, Erika worked as a consultant with ICF International where she helped electric utilities and local governments develop EV readiness plans. She also served as the Renewable Energy Manager for the South Carolina Energy Office and was a Clean Cities Coordinator for the Palmetto State Clean Fuels Coalition. In these roles, she oversaw the development and execution of key state renewable energy and clean transportation policies, regulations, and grant programs.

Erika has a bachelor’s degree from Clemson University and a master’s degree from the University of South Carolina with a specialization in clean energy and climate science.

In her spare time, Erika volunteers for her city’s Energy Transition Subcommittee where she identified donations for the city’s first bank of public EV chargers. She also volunteers as a regular guest speaker for the Clean Energy Leadership Institute and mentors young professionals interested in a clean transportation career.

Mike Vervair is an engineer for Avista Utilities’ electric transportation department where he has been helping build out EVSE infrastructure for Avista’s EVSE pilot project since 2016. Prior to coming to the utility industry, Mike had an operations and technical background in distribution and HVAC. Mike holds a Mechanical Engineering and Business Finance double major from Eastern Washington University and enjoys snowboarding, backpacking and traveling in his spare time.

Dr. Karim Farhat is a clean energy enthusiast with a decade experience in distributed energy resources and transportation electrification, spanning competitive strategy, policy and economic analysis, and long-term planning and forecasting. Karim is currently an Expert Product Manager, VehicleGrid Integration at PG&E. Within this role, Karim leads PG&E’s efforts on Vehicle Grid Integration (VGI)strategy, policy, and implementation, within the broader Grid Integration and Innovation business unit. His work covers both smart managed charging (V1G) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G). Karim joined PG&E from the Boston Consulting Group, where he was a consultant in the Washington DC office working with arange of global energy clients. During his graduate studies, Karim was a Fellow at the Stanford Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance, and he led several projects and initiatives at SunEdison, Shell Technology Ventures, and Shell Future Energy Technologies (currently Shell New Energies). Karimholds a Ph.D. in Management Science and Engineering and an M.S. in Energy Resources Engineering from Stanford University, and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University.

Mauro Dresti has more than 25 years of experience in high- technology development, introduction and management for Fortune 500 and NASDAQ-listed energy and consumer electronics companies. His energy industry career includes experience with major power supply companies and, primarily, at Edison, where he drove a variety of technology-development projects, including electric vehicle charging, solar energy applications, nuclear monitoring instrumentation, a security business line, call- center management and an energy-use monitoring program for commercial customers. Originally from Detroit, Mr. Dresti holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and an MBA with a technology management concentration. He holds a number of technology patents, as well, pertaining to energy and home networking.