Qmerit Partners with Uplight to Ease EV Transition for Utilities and Consumers

By AIT News Desk On Apr 13, 2022

Partnership will enable utilities to bundle EV charger installation into a broad suite of consumer services and resources

Qmerit, the leading provider of implementation solutions for EV charging and other electrification technologies, and Uplight, the technology partner of energy providers transitioning to the clean energy ecosystem, announced a partnership that will expand the ability of utilities to provide end-to-end charging support for EV buyers.

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“Our partnership with Qmerit is a key step in helping the energy industry to embrace this opportunity to become even more customer centric and ease pain points.”

This partnership leverages Qmerit’s extensive electrification service implementation capabilities, including a national network of skilled EV Charger installers, and Uplight’s EV Solution Suite, making buying and installing a charger with utility rebates more affordable and seamless for the energy customer. This will enhance the customer experience by bringing down the cost of Level 2 chargers at point of purchase and surfacing price transparency for installation costs, allowing customers to focus on the benefits of Level 2 chargers and alleviating the number one barrier to Level 2 charger adoption—lack of consumer education. The partnership will also provide consumers with educational resources on topics including incentives for EV charger installation, charging station selection, energy management, and electrical panel upgrades.

“Both Qmerit and Uplight share a common vision—making the electrification of transportation easy for EV purchasers by bringing together all of the various technologies, resources and stakeholders,” said Tom Bowen, President of Qmerit Solutions, Qmerit. “In the big picture, this partnership is about connecting those dots to make the EV revolution more attainable at the individual level.”

Together, Qmerit and Uplight offer complementary benefits for utilities and their customers, including integrating charger sales with managed charging to help utilities enroll more customers, shifting more load and setting up the grid for future EV growth. The partnership provides utilities with more quality touchpoints with customers as they embark on the electrification journey, and customers with better support around the installation and adoption of home- or business-based Level 2 charging.

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“With consumer interest in EVs rapidly increasing, offerings that ensure seamless adoption must keep up. EV chargers are the fastest growing product category on Uplight Marketplaces, with the number of chargers sold increasing nearly ten times from 2020 to 2021,” said Uplight Vice President of E-Commerce Brad Chen. “Our partnership with Qmerit is a key step in helping the energy industry to embrace this opportunity to become even more customer centric and ease pain points.”

Research by Uplight shows that most electric vehicle owners do little or no investigation into charging before purchasing their vehicle. Similarly, most don’t consider turning to their utility for this information. Chen said this situation could change as stakeholders across the EV ecosystem do a better job of coming together around the needs of the buyer.

“You’re going to see a major shift as the market moves from the curious browser to the savvy shopper,” said Chen. “It’s all part of the process of EVs going from novelty to mainstream.”

Bowen agreed, adding that the pace of the EV revolution will depend on widespread adoption of home- and business-based charging.

“We are going to need a drastic surge in residential and commercial charging in order for EVs to fulfill their promise,” Bowen said. “Our partnership with Uplight is an example of the efforts underway to make this happen for the consumer.”

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