As fleets across California electrify, many risk overbuilding charging infrastructure by relying on overly
conservative assumptions about charging patterns, daily energy needs, and vehicle range. “Rightsizing”
involves deploying only the number of EV charging stations required to meet fleet duty cycles, with an
appropriate operational buffer, and selecting charging power levels that align with actual fleet needs.
This approach can significantly reduce upfront capital costs and ongoing operating expenses for fleet
operators, while also minimizing unnecessary grid upgrades and associated costs to ratepayers.
For example, through technical assistance provided to the City of San Carlos, WestLight Energy and
its program partner, Optony, demonstrated that San Carlos could support 17 electric pickups using five
existing single-port Level 2 chargers, approximately 3.4 vehicles per charging port, without compromising
operational readiness.
By applying a data-driven rightsizing approach, San Carlos avoided more than $300K in unnecessary EV
charging infrastructure costs, deferred the need for major utility upgrades, and accelerated its
electrification timeline. These findings are consistent with trends seen across other fleets and highlight
rightsizing as a critical strategy for cost-effective fleet transition to EVs
