To facilitate the adoption of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technologies, as part of the broader effort to support vehicle-grid integration, the California Energy Commission maintains a list of bidirectional charging equipment. Bidirectional technologies can charge a vehicle’s batteries with energy from the grid but also power the grid with energy from the vehicle’s batteries during times beneficial to the driver. These V2G services can provide revenue to drivers while ensuring their vehicles have enough range. And the services provide valuable energy at the right times to the grid. Before delivering power to the grid, customers must go through the utility’s interconnection process and receive Permission to Operate from the utility.


The CEC V2G Equipment List tracks bidirectional charging equipment certified to UL 1741 (including any subsequent supplements). UL 1741 is a national safety standard used with distributed energy resources, and UL 1741 certification may be required by some utilities for equipment interconnection. CEC reviews submitted equipment models for UL 1741 test report validity and test completeness. CEC does not conduct testing on submitted equipment models.

For utilities and customers


Browse the equipment list

Note: CEC listing of an equipment model is not an endorsement of its purchase, use, interconnection, or performance. CEC listing is not a prerequisite for utility interconnection. CEC listing may support streamlined interconnection. CEC does not determine utility interconnection requirements.

For manufacturers


UL 1741-certified equipment

Note: Manufacturers may submit bidirectional charging equipment models certified to UL 1741 (including any subsequent supplements) to CEC for listing. Equipment models must have a UL 1741 test report issued by a Nationally Recognized Test Laboratory with Occupational Safety and Health Administration recognition for UL 1741 testing. Equipment used with solar photovoltaics or stationary storage should be listed through the Solar Equipment Lists, not the V2G Equipment List. Equipment models without UL 1741 certification, such as unidirectional chargers, are not eligible for listing.


Frequently Asked Questions


It is a list of DC Electric Vehicle charging equipment which is capable of exporting power from the vehicle to the electric grid, and has been certified to UL 1741. Currently any EV charger with UL 1741 certification is eligible to be connected to the grid (for utilities under the jurisdiction of the California Public Utilities Commission as well as most other California utilities), although a utility may still reject interconnection requests for other reasons (such as safety concerns). While the list collects and displays other information, such as Energy Star certification, it is not a requirement for listing nor for a utility to consider an interconnection request. While it is anticipated most manufacturers will list their eligible equipment, utilities should consider any certified equipment for interconnection even if it does not appear on the list.

Only the equipment manufacturer can submit for listing, after they have obtained UL 1741 certification.

The Energy Commission will list any equipment submitted by its manufacturer with proof of UL 1741 certification. We do not conduct our own testing or other verification of listed equipment.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) maintains a list of Nationally-Recognized Testing Laboratories, only some of which are authorized to certify for UL 1741 (click on a lab in the list to see its list of Recognized Testing Standards). These are the only labs that can certify equipment.

No. It is hoped the list will streamline connection requests by assisting utilities to find equipment that meets certification. However, a utility cannot reject an interconnection request for eligible equipment just because the equipment is not listed.

Clear standards exist for stationary equipment that takes DC power out of a vehicle and converts it to AC to export over a permanent connection to the grid. If a car exports AC power, it could in principle connect directly to the grid through some kind of portal. However, utilities and regulators have not yet worked out how to guarantee safety and stability of the grid if an unknown vehicle connects to a portal and attempts to export power. It is anticipated that standards will be approved for cars that export AC within the next few years, and the V2G Equipment List will list such devices then.

Yes and no. The Lightning has an onboard DC to AC converter used to convert and transport DC power from the batteries to ordinary AC plugs on the truck where users can plug in equipment such as power tools. However, the home backup system sold with the Lightning uses DC exported from the vehicle’s charging connector and external (stationary) equipment converts the power to AC.

V2G stands for Vehicle to Grid and refers to processes that export power from a vehicle to the electrical grid. V2G allows electric vehicles, including buses and trucks with huge batteries, to stabilize the grid by providing power when it is needed most, such as when solar and wind power are unavailable.The vehicle owner will be compensated for providing that power. V2G is in its infancy but when mature will play a big role in keeping the lights on and holding down the cost of transforming the energy system to meet the state’s climate goals. For more information see the Energy Commission’s Vehicle Grid Integration page.

These are additional certification requirements contained in Supplement A and Supplement B of the UL 1741 standard and relate to “smart” inverters. An inverter is equipment that converts DC power (such as that stored in vehicle batteries) to AC, and any DC V2G charger contains an inverter. In the late 2010s, regulators, utilities and other stakeholders, primarily in California, developed rules for smart inverters which overcame tendencies of older inverters to destabilize the grid. Supplement A was a stopgap measure added to UL 1741 to certify smart inverters while another standards body (the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, IEEE) was developing rules for testing and certifying smart inverters. When that process was finished, Supplement B was added to UL 1741 and incorporated the IEEE procedures by reference.

Yes (mostly). In California, inverters newly connected to the grid must be certified to either SA or SB; after March, 2023 they must be certified to SB. However, exceptions are made for inverters that were purchased in earlier years, and also for resources that are connected to the grid for the sole purpose of participating in the state’s Emergency Load Reduction Program. Even these inverters must be certified at least to UL 1741 (without supplements).

The parameters of the Solar Equipment List are determined by legislation, making it difficult to adapt it to other purposes. The V2GEL has been developed on the initiative of the Commission, without legislation.