An automotive industry trade and lobbying group is advocating the integration of electric vehicles and the U.S. electric grid to better pave the way for greater EV adoption.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation released a report laying out a blueprint for such an integration, calling on utility companies, policy makers and regulators to prepare the grid. It includes groundwork such as managed EV charging, two-way charging, rate design and vehicle telematics.

It released the report at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ summer policy summit this week to encourage cooperation on policy-setting between automakers and utilities.

“The automotive and electric power industries are converging. What does that mean? It means drivers increasingly consider electric utilities as the gateway to reliable and affordable electric mobility,” said alliance President and CEO John Bozzella in a press release on the report. “But EV drivers expect no compromise transportation – with convenient, reliable and affordable EV charging.”

The report’s recommendations include:

• Optional EV electricity rates to pay for fleet electrification and charging stations in areas with light traffic

• Making time-of-use power rates available to EV drivers and offering whole-house and EV-only variable rates

• Compensation to EV drivers for feeding the grid

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