Maria Kretzing, Bidgely’s Head of Innovation and EVs, Interviewed by EVinfo.net

Maria Kretzing, Bidgely’s Head of Innovation and EVs, was interviewed by Bill Pierce, Publisher, EVinfo.net. In this interview, Kretzing shares information about Bidgely, as well as her own personal EV adoption story.

BP: Tell us a little about yourself.

MK: I serve as the Director of Innovation and lead our EV product portfolio at Bidgely – what this means is that I own the entire lifecycle of our EV products from conception to development to deployment. I focus not just on fostering innovative ideas, but proving their validity in the field with utilities and customers.

My background is in engineering, with an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering and a master’s degree from Georgia Institute of Technology in mechanical engineering. This led me to work as a GE engineer, working on several projects in the nuclear energy business unit ranging from transient analysis to laser enrichment. After two and a half years, I internally transferred to the GE Power Conversion team where I served as a project engineer for a solar inverter product. I then went on to join SNC-Lavalin as a Senior Chemical Process Engineer focusing on chemical and energy applications, including start-up of a 725 MW combined cycle plant. After six years of focus on generation side assets in the energy space I wanted to explore opportunities in software which lead me to Opower to focus on utility SAAS applications. It was here that I honed my skills in the utility software space, project managing the Oracle Utilities Innovation Lab where I was responsible for bringing innovative products to life through the experiential lab. It’s also where I gained additional team management capabilities as well as sales and marketing experience that helped land me my current role with Bidgely, where I’ve been for the last two years.

BP: Who founded your company? When did it happen?

MK: Bidgely – “electricity” in Hindi – was the brainchild of CEO, Abhay Gupta and Chief Technology Officer, Vivek Garud. They launched the company in 2011 from a garage in the heart of Silicon Valley – a classic tech startup origin story. Their goal was to be an indispensable innovation partner for the modern energy provider by unlocking the power of data and AI, enabling energy providers to more easily achieve their strategic goals and create a deeper relationship with their customers.

BP: What is Bidgely’s mission?

MK: Bidgely’s mission is to accelerate a clean energy future by enabling utilities and customers the information they need to make data-driven energy decisions. As a cleantech pioneer, Bidgely embraces the climate challenge and was built from the ground up with the knowledge that smarter usage and deployment of the energy grid today will move us closer toward our clean energy future.

BP: What services/products does Bidgely provide?

MK: At its core, Bidgely is a climate tech innovator that provides utilities and energy partners a software platform that creates an accurate analysis of how energy is being used. We leverage our patented AI to provide analysis on appliance type, usage, and efficiency, among other things, and deliver real-time insights that utilities can use to make smarter decisions, such as maximizing clean energy assets.

At a deeper level, our software platform was designed to be easily connected with the infrastructure already used by utilities. We take the data utilities already collect and turn it into actionable insights and tools that can be used to do more with the power already available. To that end, we’re proud that Bidgely has become a leader in customer engagement solutions in a short period of time. We’re helping utilities and their customers rethink their approach to electricity and empowering smarter energy decisions that benefit them financially, and benefit their communities by helping ensure clean energy is used to the greatest possible extent.

For instance, as electric vehicles are becoming more commonplace, a concern utilities have is making sure enough electricity is available at any given time to meet demand. Bidgely can discover who on that grid is using a lot of energy at the worst time, say someone with two EVs who is charging them both at 5:30 every evening. This is a common time of day when energy is being used the most which results in a more constrained electric grid. We can help the utility then target that customer with messaging that would encourage them to shift their charging behavior, possibly to later in the evening or to earlier in the morning, or we can even help automate customers charging so that they always charge in the cheapest and cleanest hours. In this scenario everyone is getting the power they need, and only those negative disruptors are being asked to make small changes.

BP: Does your company offer policies such as remote work, and unlimited PTO?

MK: Our policies at Bidgely allow for not just employee retention but employee growth. We do offer remote work as well as unlimited PTO, in addition to flexible work we offer growth and wellness resources that include educational funds, wellness funds, and employee engagement groups and challenges. I actually lead up our book club that meets quarterly and our annual fitness challenge.

BP: How has Bidgely supported sustainability?

MK: Bidgely supports sustainability every day. As an employer we account for carbon when considering employee travel, and we offer a number of sustainability initiatives for our global workforce. These programs have been well received by employees, but we recognize that we can do much more. That’s why as a company, we’re enabling customers and utilities to make smarter, cleaner energy decisions backed by the power of data and AI. We help utility customers better understand their electricity bills by sharing information on how much appliances and EVs are costing them, and by delivering personalized communication that lets them know the lowest cost time to charge while still maximizing renewable energy sources. We help utilities protect the grid by analyzing user data to manage current capacity, plan for future load demand, and give them the tools to integrate their customers into sustainability goals.

This extends to EVs as well with our newly launched EV Active Managed Charging solution. Our EV Active Managed Charging solution was designed to recruit, enroll, connect, and incentivize EV owners to participate in rebate programs that educate and encourage better charging behavior while providing utilities the tools to more effectively manage existing capacity. Currently the only approach to enabling this type of smart charging is if someone opts to purchase and install a smart EV charger on their own. Bidgely’s EV charging offering, essentially, makes the entire grid smarter, bringing more sustainability to more people all at one time.

BP: How and when did you get into EVs? Which EVs have you owned? What have been your most favorite and least favorite features of them?

MK: I personally am a newer owner of an EV – my husband and I just got our EV in 2022 – a Hyundai Kona. However, I’ve been interested in EVs for the past 5 years, admittedly fueled initially by following Elon Musk and the rise of Tesla.

My passion for carbon reduction and combatting climate change were the main benefits I thought of when deciding to get an EV. However, since owning one there are some other features that I wouldn’t have thought of before including:

• Acceleration – it’s just really fun to drive an EV because going from 0-60 is comparable to a very nice sports car

• Not needing to stop for gas – I didn’t expect charging to be so easy or cheap (notably my husband gets free charging at work). We didn’t buy a level 2 charger – we just plug it right into our outdoor outlet and we get about 70 miles each night. The nice thing is the car is never low on charge and getting charge is just part of our routine now.

• Modern features including a heads up display, touch screen main console (including all the nice EV metrics), heated and cooled seats, and more make for a luxurious experience.

• Finally – this one is a bit silly – but the quietness of driving is so nice. Now when I drive our other vehicle (an ICE) I am annoyed by how much I have to turn up the radio to drown out the natural noises.

I only have one real complaint so far and that is the limited availability of level 3 chargers on the highways. We’ve taken two road trips with the EV and both times we got into dicey situations because of either out of service fast chargers or limited options at the ideal stopping point. That’s not even considering the 30 min time to get back to a full charge. I hope that soon we see a lot more level 3 chargers and Tesla opens up their supercharging network to other OEMs.

BP: How has Bidgely promoted EV adoption in the past?

MK: The only way EV adoption can flourish is if utilities are able to provide the power and infrastructure needed for adoption. To do this, utilities rely on the insights Bidgely provides to accurately inform decisions on where and when they generate and distribute energy. Bidgely works with some of the world’s largest utilities and helps them effectively service 30 million customers by utilizing existing grid capacity and helping them plan for a greater electrified future stemming from EVs. Utilities continue to rely on this support and now have another tool in their arsenal to prepare for future adoption with Bidgely’s EV Active Managed Charging solution.

BP: What plans does Bidgely have for promoting EV adoption in the future?

MK: Bidgely recently announced its EV Active Managed Charging solution, which was specifically designed to recruit, enroll, connect, and incentivize EV owners to participate in rebate programs that educate and encourage better charging behavior while providing utilities with the tools to more effectively manage existing capacity.

Bidgely’s EV Active Managed Charging provides the flexibility of demand to help manage load and prepare for future increases, especially the solution’s telematics integration. It gives utilities more information, not just the type, status, and location an EV is charging, but for some vehicles it allows utilities to deploy automatic charging in an intelligent manner. With this intelligence, utilities can stagger charging times to balance load and maximize power from renewable energy sources. For example, group one will charge from 8:00 PM to 12:00 AM, group two from 12:00 AM to 4:00 AM, and group three from 4:00 AM to 8:00 AM. This way, all customers are satisfied, there’s no need for increased system costs, and this allows more efficient use of current resources.

The U.S. is electrifying transportation at the same time as it seeks to decarbonize the grid. Where some see strain and challenges, we see opportunity. If supply is getting less predictable, more predictable and/or more flexible demand is needed to compensate for that.

BP: What are the biggest barriers to EV adoption in your opinion? How could these barriers be overcome?

MK: The biggest barriers include vehicle price, lack of charging infrastructure, comparatively limited vehicle range, and grid capacity concerns. That said, the next adoption wave will be here sooner than we think, and it is imperative utilities prepare for this eventuality.

Bidgely is helping overcome these challenges at the utility level with EVAMC. Not only does this solution incentivize EV owners to participate in rebate programs that educate and encourage better charging behavior, help manage existing capacity, and make the entire grid smarter, it also helps utilities plan for the future. This ability helps them create better, more widespread infrastructure improvements, like charging stations, that will help extend EV range and alleviate grid capacity concerns with smarter charging management.

BP: What do you believe government could do to promote EV adoption that they are not currently doing?

MK: It starts with energy supply. Government must increase the depth and breadth of industry public private partnerships to increase supply and prepare for the massive electrification increase – much of which is from EV adoption – coming over the next decade and beyond. Coordinating a country-wide response is key to providing enough energy to meet this demand and being smarter with the resources we already have. The country is creating a supply and demand imbalance that needs smart thinking, thinking that Bidgely and our EVAMC can provide today.

I’m concerned some utilities are lured into a false sense of security and are not going far enough to prepare for these changes. Policies like those in California for all new vehicles to be electric by 2035 will create massive strain on the grid, and utilities must be ready to meet those challenges while also achieving ambitious decarbonization goals.

BP: How could middle class and lower income families be assisted in adopting EVs?

MK: Government, utilities, and automakers need to better educate the public about purchasing opportunities and the savings customers can realize when switching to an EV. Showing how much money customers can save on fuel costs when they switch can be eye opening to some potential buyers. We also need to dispel the myth that EV owners are only the wealthy, tech-types who like to experiment with new, expensive technology. This may have been true a number of years ago, but we’ve moved past that early phase. We’re actually seeing EV growth through Bidgely’s software, and it’s permeating beyond wealthy zip codes. So, growth is happening, but better education can help those numbers grow.

What I also see as crucial is the rise in OEMs and legacy automakers that are bringing their expertise and the power of their manufacturing capabilities to the market. Not only will this lower the cost of many vehicles, their entrance will encourage greater competition for people who don’t see themselves driving a Tesla, Rivian, or a Lucid. Taking popular existing combustion engine models and converting them to electric versions will encourage greater adoption.