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If You Build It, They May Not Come: Willingness to Participate in Managed EV Charging

Author

Listed:
  • Fiona Burlig

    (Harris School of Public Policy and Energy Policy Institute (EPIC), University of Chicago; NBER)

  • James Bushnell

    (Department of Economics, University of California, Davis; NBER)

  • David Rapson

    (Department of Economics, University of California, Davis)

Abstract

Despite the importance of program participation for policy, treatment effects are often measured on self-selected samples. We study electric vehicle (EV) managed charging, intended to reduce electric grid strain by optimally allocating charging across EVs. Prior work finds large impacts of managed charging among households who volunteer for an RCT. In contrast, we test managed charging with an experiment including all EVs within a California utility. Enrollment is low even with high incentives, and we can reject even modest intent-to-treat effects on electricity consumption. Managed charging is less effective than previously thought, underscoring the value of population-wide experiments.

Suggested Citation

  • Fiona Burlig & James Bushnell & David Rapson, 2026. "If You Build It, They May Not Come: Willingness to Participate in Managed EV Charging," Working Papers WP-2026-56, Becker Friedman Institute for Research In Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:bfi:wpaper:2026-56
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    File URL: https://bfi.uchicago.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/BFI_WP_2026-56.pdf
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