E3 and Integral Analytics (IA) partnered to build Forecasting Anywhere, a geospatial forecasting tool designed to meet the emerging needs of electric utilities, regulators, municipalities, and planners as they prepare for a rapidly evolving grid. As adoption of electric vehicles, building electrification technologies like heat pumps, and distributed energy resources (DER) accelerates, utilities and planners increasingly need granular, location-specific tools to understand where adoption will occur and its associated load impacts. Forecasting Anywhere fills this gap with scenario-based forecasting that can be integrated with utilities’ existing distribution planning tools.
Forecasting Anywhere uses a combination of machine learning, heuristic algorithms, and a suite of spatial datasets (such as building stock characteristics, parcel-level land use, income data, and EV registration data) to forecast DER and electrification adoption. These forecasts can be aligned with long-term state policy goals, utility integrated resource plans, and decarbonization targets. Paired with E3’s load shape tools, Forecasting Anywhere produces hourly load impacts from electrification technologies and DERs across seasons and years that reflect geographic variation. Utilities can explore a wide range of scenarios, from baseline adoption trajectories to high-electrification, managed load, and equity-focused pathways, to evaluate grid impacts under multiple futures,and it’sdesigned to work with utility distribution planning tools such as LoadSEER and CYME, creating a workflow from planning scenarios to circuit-level analysis.
Case Studies
Forecasting Anywhere has been deployed by utilities and agencies across the country to support a range of planning and regulatory needs. The platform helps utilities identify system upgrade needs, evaluate hosting capacity, and assess the value of non-wires alternatives. It also supports equity-focused planning by modeling adoption trends in disadvantaged communities and estimating localized grid impacts. While most projects are utility-led, Forecasting Anywhere has also been used by cities to evaluate grid readiness and inform long-term climate and electrification strategies. As EV adoption accelerates, both utilities and municipalities are using the tool to anticipate charging infrastructure needs, manage peak load impacts, and guide infrastructure investments. Whether in support of statewide policies or local energy plans, Forecasting Anywhere helps clarify infrastructure needs, investment timing, and ratepayer impacts across a range of electrification scenarios.
PG&E Electrification Impact Study
E3 and IA are currently leveraging Forecasting Anywhere to support Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) on Phase 2 of its Electrification Impact Study. This phase of the study is commissioned by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to build on Phase 1 of the Electrification Impact Study, which estimated the costs of preparing the grid for electrification. In Phase 2, E3, IA, and PG&E are refining the cost analysis, assessing DER adoption by customers in disadvantaged communities, and studying the impacts of enhanced load management and demand flexibility. The study will help stakeholders better understand the impacts of electrification in California and inform PG&E distribution planning and grid investment processes.
SMUD Integrated Distributed Resource Planning
E3 and IA are supporting the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) in developing an Integrated Distributed Resource Plan (IDRP). Forecasting Anywhere is being used to model the grid impacts of electrification, with particular focus on medium- and heavy-duty vehicle charging, on SMUD’s distribution system. The study will explore opportunities for managed charging and other distribution-sited resources to defer distribution system upgrades and lower the costs of electrification.
Georgia Statewide Load Growth Scenarios
E3 used Forecasting Anywhere to visualize the local distribution grid impacts of national load growth scenarios, focusing on Georgia. Driven by data center expansion and accelerating EV adoption, electric load in Georgia is projected to grow faster than the U.S. average. Forecasting Anywhere helped translate statewide adoption scenarios into parcel-level projections of EV charger adoption.
The resulting maps highlight the differences in grid impacts between scenarios. In the high-adoption scenario, urban and suburban areas like metro Atlanta show dense deployment of residential L2 chargers, with projected load growth that could double peak evening demand in some neighborhoods. These outputs support utility planners and policymakers in targeting infrastructure investments and understanding where new loads may trigger the need for substation or feeder upgrades.
Load Management and Electrification Insights from the Southeast
Forecasting Anywhere was used to support a public utility in the Southeast in evaluating how electrification might impact the distribution system over time. The analysis revealed that home Level 2 EV charging is expected to drive the majority of new load growth, while building electrification has modes impacts, generally due to high penetration of electric resistance heating in the area, which results in efficiency gains when heat pumps are adopted. Forecasting Anywhere enabled the utility to visualize where and when these loads would appear on the grid, identifying which feeders were most likely to require upgrades under different adoption scenarios.
The study highlighted that conventional time-of-use (TOU) rates may not sufficiently mitigate peak load impacts, particularly at higher adoption levels. By providing location-specific visibility into load growth and feeder constraints, Forecasting Anywhere is helping the utility plan for smarter infrastructure investments and laying the groundwork for more effective load management strategies in the future.
Grid Readiness Planning for New York City
As part of New York City’s PowerUp NYC Long-Term Energy Plan, E3 used Forecasting Anywhere to evaluate how building and transportation electrification could impact the city’s electric distribution grid. Working with Integral Analytics, E3 developed geospatial forecasts of load growth at the Con Edison network level, helping the City identify where increased electric demand may exceed grid capacity under different scenarios.
The analysis provided insight into when and where grid constraints could emerge—particularly in outer boroughs like Brooklyn and Queens—and assessed how managed charging and emerging technologies (like vehicle-to-grid and behind-the-meter storage) could help reduce peak loads. Forecasting Anywhere enabled this network-level visibility by simulating hourly electrification impacts across scenarios and identifying upgrade needs with a focus on reliability, equity, and climate readiness. The findings are now helping inform infrastructure investment and load management strategies, particularly in NYC’s Disadvantaged Communities and Environmental Justice areas. The full report can be found here.
To learn more about E3’s work in distribution planning and granular, location-specific grid impact modeling, you may reach E3 Partner Eric Cutter directly at eric@ethree.com.
