How Mercury & ZeroMission’s partnered to deliver a comprehensive electric vehicle and charging system suitability assessment for one of the U.S. largest water utilities, Golden State Water Company
Mercury Associates, is the country’s largest dedicated fleet management consulting firm that provides independent, unbiased advice and technical assistance to both public and private sector organizations, specializing in helping them improve the operations and management of their vehicle and equipment fleets; they are known for their extensive experience in fleet management across various industries, offering services like fleet replacement planning, cost feasibility studies, fleet electrification analysis, and operational assessments.
As part of its client engagements, Mercury sought the expertise of a partner that specialized in preparing electric vehicle and charging infrastructure suitability assessments. Mercury and ZeroMission teamed up to support Golden State Water company, one of the country’s largest water utility companies.
In line with its ESG commitments, Golden State Water Company was exploring with Mercury Associates a system wide zero emission vehicle transition plan and fleet right sizing. As part of this effort key challenges included:
• Assessing the suitability of existing vehicles, facilities, and operations for EV integration.
• Identifying optimal locations and configurations for charging infrastructure.
• Developing a clear plan to guide investment and operational decisions while mitigating risks.
Without a comprehensive assessment, the GSWC risked suboptimal investments of rate payer funds, operational inefficiencies, and non-compliance with its ZEV commitments.
Golden State Water GSW locations
As such ZeroMission focused on the following deliverables in partnership with Mercury’s team:
Charging Station Suitability Assessment: A detailed analysis to identify feasible and optimal charging system setups for the fleet.
Electric Vehicle Suitability Assessment: Evaluating fleet vehicles and operational needs to determine which vehicles were best suited for electrification.
Detailed Plans and Drawings: Comprehensive plans, including technical drawings, to guide capital investments in EVs and charging equipment.
Data Collection & Validation
Mercury worked together with GSWC to identify and collect relevant digital and static data sets including vehicle makes and models, characteristics, operational schedules, facility layouts and constraints, and any other fleet, facility and operationally relevant information. Data was collected and validated together with the customer, after which it is uploaded into the ZeroMission comprehensive modeling tool which provided the framework for modeling various electric vehicle and charging infrastructure scenarios.
Utility Service Fleets
are increasingly exploring investments into zero emission vehicles.
Modeling ZEV Scenarios
ZeroMission and Mercury worked together to define several electric vehicle and charging infrasturcture scenarios to be modeled. At the start, the charging requirements were based on projected ‘worst case’ scenario schedule. Additionally, a ‘typical’ schedule was also used for a base model which was then subjected to defined and random variations in timings and energy requirements to ‘test’ the flexibility and resiliency of the charging solution. Mercury’s expertise in the fleet management and operations space provided a highly informative and pragmatic back stop to all modeled scenarios such that the final outcomes were highly tailored to GSWC real world conditions and unique challenges.
Outputs & Final Report
All modeled outcomes are stress tested and discussed with the end customer. A preliminary and final report is then prepared to share with our partners and customer for review. The findings of which greatly helped inform further site and in field validation of scenarios. Mercury’s team was able to take this analysis and leverage it into the broader fleet management planning that was needed such that GSWC could make a holistic and comprehensively informed decision on which sites and vehicles to electrify and to what configuration.
Sample Simulation Output: validating individual vehicle operational & power requirements
Key Results
With ZeroMission and Mercury’s combined expertise, Golden State Water Company achieved critical milestones
•Optimal Charging System Feasibility Assessment: Clear recommendations ensured charging infrastructure met current and future needs.
• Electric Vehicle Suitability Assessment: A roadmap for fleet electrification was established, focusing on vehicles best suited for transition.
• Strategic Planning Documents: Detailed plans and technical drawings enabled effective cross-team collaboration and provided a foundation for scalable investments.
• Cost and Risk Mitigation: The solutions reduced overall spending by optimizing capital investments and identifying potential risks upfront.
The deployment provided actionable insights to enable Golden State Water Company to make informed decisions about EV adoption and infrastructure development.
Overall Satisfaction
Golden State Water Company and Mercury Fleet Consultants expressed strong confidence in ZeroMission’s contribution. Brad Smith, Mercury’s Project Lead, had the following to say about ZeroMission’s capabilities: “ZeroMission’s digital modeling tools and deep experience with electric vehicles and charging infrastructure has been invaluable. Their expertise is a perfect bolt on to our core capabilities around vehicles, operations and fleet management. Together we are strongly positioned to support public and private fleets develop optimal and practical solutions to manage ZEV transitions.”
ZeroMission continues to work in partnership with Mercury Associates to jointly support their customers in achieving their sustainability and compliance goals through data-driven insights and tailored solutions.