EV charging network Gantt chart template with utility power waits
An editable EV charging network Gantt chart: site leases, utility power upgrade waits per wave, hardware order, staggered installation, payments set-up and go-live milestones for three roll-out waves.
What the EV charging network gantt chart template with utility power waits process is
A charging roll-out looks like one project but behaves like several small ones. Every site needs a lease, a layout, a power supply that is often bigger than the site has, permission to dig, and hardware on the ground. The hardware is the easy part to plan. What decides the date is the wait for the utility to upgrade the supply at each site, which is outside your team and usually the longest item. A timeline shows which wave that wait holds back before you promise a go-live to anyone.
This template models three waves rather than one task per site, so it stays readable. Replace each wave with the group of sites your own plan puts together, for example by utility area. There are four groups: Sites and leases, Power and permits, Installation waves, and Back office and go-live. It has 21 tasks and 4 milestones: "Leases signed", "Wave 1 live", "Wave 2 live" and "Network live". All durations are illustrative, and the waits are placeholders to replace with what the utility tells you.
The front is a plain chain: "Shortlist candidate sites" (3 working days), "Survey sites and parking layouts" (5) and "Negotiate and sign leases" (10), ending at "Leases signed". The survey also feeds "Submit power upgrade requests" (3), so the utility is asked before the leases close. After that the plan splits into three separate waits: "Wave 1 utility power upgrade wait" (25), "Wave 2 utility power upgrade wait" (32) and "Wave 3 utility power upgrade wait" (40). Nothing the team does shortens them, which is why they sit in the plan as tasks and not as notes.
Installation is where the waves overlap. "Install wave 1 chargers" (10) waits for its own power wait, for "Wait for hardware delivery" (15) and for "Submit works permission applications" (4), which starts once "Leases signed" is reached. "Install wave 2 chargers" starts 5 days after wave 1 starts, and "Install wave 3 chargers" 5 days after wave 2 starts, so one crew can move along. In this plan the 5-day lag is only a floor: each wave also waits for its own utility upgrade, and that is the link that sets its start. A hardware order placed for the whole network, "Order chargers and cabinets" (3), is the late change that costs most to revise.
The back office runs beside the build. "Set up payments and charger management" (8) starts after the hardware order and must finish before the first "Commission wave 1 sites" (3). Each wave then has its own commissioning and a live milestone, and "Commission wave 2 sites" waits for "Wave 1 live" so what the first wave showed can be fixed first. If a utility gives you a fixed energisation or opening date, fix the first task's start and the start of the affected install task, then read the conflict flag. A timeline schedules the work. It does not make an installation safe, permitted or connected; those depend on the utility, the authority and your contractors. See /templates/battery-storage-project-gantt-chart for a plan decided by a grid queue, /templates/multi-store-opening-gantt-chart for staggered site openings, and /guides/long-lead-equipment-gantt-chart for waits like these.
What this flowchart covers
In this template
- Four groups, Sites and leases, Power and permits, Installation waves and Back office and go-live, with 21 tasks and 4 milestones: "Leases signed", "Wave 1 live", "Wave 2 live" and "Network live".
- Three separate utility waits, "Wave 1 utility power upgrade wait" (25 working days), "Wave 2 utility power upgrade wait" (32) and "Wave 3 utility power upgrade wait" (40), all starting after "Submit power upgrade requests".
- Staggered installation: "Install wave 2 chargers" starts 5 days after "Install wave 1 chargers", and "Install wave 3 chargers" 5 days after wave 2, each also waiting for its own power wait.
- A hardware path of "Order chargers and cabinets" (3) and "Wait for hardware delivery" (15) that every installation wave depends on.
- A back office of "Set up payments and charger management" (8), followed by commissioning and a live milestone for each wave, ending at "Network live".
When to use this template
- You are rolling out charging at several sites and need to see which wave each utility power upgrade holds back.
- You want to start the next wave's installation while the last is still being built, without starting before its power is ready.
- A landlord, fleet or partner wants a go-live date per wave and you want to compare the finish date with the date you need.
- You want a repeatable skeleton for each batch of sites that you can copy and adjust.
The plan, task by task
Every task in the chart with its length in working days and what it waits for. A dependency is a step number; SS is start-to-start, FF is finish-to-finish, and +n is a lag in working days.
| # | Task | Group | Working days | Depends on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shortlist candidate sites | Sites and leases | 3 | |
| 2 | Survey sites and parking layouts | Sites and leases | 5 | 1 |
| 3 | Negotiate and sign leases | Sites and leases | 10 | 2 |
| 4 | Leases signed | Sites and leases | Milestone | 3 |
| 5 | Submit power upgrade requests | Power and permits | 3 | 2 |
| 6 | Wave 1 utility power upgrade wait | Power and permits | 25 | 5 |
| 7 | Wave 2 utility power upgrade wait | Power and permits | 32 | 5 |
| 8 | Wave 3 utility power upgrade wait | Power and permits | 40 | 5 |
| 9 | Submit works permission applications | Power and permits | 4 | 4 |
| 10 | Order chargers and cabinets | Installation waves | 3 | 4 |
| 11 | Wait for hardware delivery | Installation waves | 15 | 10 |
| 12 | Install wave 1 chargers | Installation waves | 10 | 6, 9, 11 |
| 13 | Install wave 2 chargers | Installation waves | 10 | 7, 12SS+5 |
| 14 | Install wave 3 chargers | Installation waves | 10 | 8, 13SS+5 |
| 15 | Set up payments and charger management | Back office and go-live | 8 | 10 |
| 16 | Commission wave 1 sites | Back office and go-live | 3 | 12, 15 |
| 17 | Wave 1 live | Back office and go-live | Milestone | 16 |
| 18 | Commission wave 2 sites | Back office and go-live | 3 | 13, 17 |
| 19 | Wave 2 live | Back office and go-live | Milestone | 18 |
| 20 | Commission wave 3 sites | Back office and go-live | 3 | 14 |
| 21 | Network live | Back office and go-live | Milestone | 19, 20 |
How it works
Group your sites into waves
Decide which sites go together, for example by utility area or lease timing, and rename the three waves. Add a fourth wave by copying a wave's wait, install, commissioning and live tasks.
Ask the utility early and replace the waits
"Submit power upgrade requests" follows the survey. Replace "Wave 1 utility power upgrade wait", "Wave 2 utility power upgrade wait" and "Wave 3 utility power upgrade wait" with the durations the utility gives you, not our placeholders.
Order hardware once the leases are signed
"Order chargers and cabinets" follows "Leases signed". Set "Wait for hardware delivery" from your supplier's lead time and note in the task what you ordered, because changing the order late moves every wave.
Stagger the installation
Keep the start-to-start links between "Install wave 1 chargers", "Install wave 2 chargers" and "Install wave 3 chargers" and change the 5-day lag to match how far apart your crews can work. Each install still waits for its power.
Run the back office beside the build
Use "Set up payments and charger management" for your own steps, such as pricing, accounts and support. Keep it before "Commission wave 1 sites" so the first live wave can take payment.
Add owners, share and export
Put the responsible person in People, share the chart with the utility liaison, installers and finance, and export a PDF or CSV when you need a copy.
Frequently asked questions
Why model waves instead of one task per site?
Because sites in a wave share a utility area, a crew and a go-live date, and one task per site would bury the plan. Use a wave for each batch and add a group for any site that needs its own timeline.
How long does a utility power upgrade take?
It depends on the site and the utility's study and works, and the figures here are placeholders. Replace the three wait tasks with what the utility tells you and read the dates from the chart.
What if the utility fixes a date for one wave?
Fix the first task's start and the start of that wave's task, then read the conflict flag to see whether the dependencies can still meet it. The plan starts on the earliest fixed start.
Does the chart make the installation permitted or safe?
No. It schedules the work. Permits, utility approval and safety checks follow the authority's, the utility's and your contractors' rules. For the commissioning steps, see /templates/electrical-system-commissioning-sop.
How do I compare this with a store roll-out or a construction plan?
A store roll-out is decided by fit-out and staffing, and construction by trades in sequence. Here a wait outside your team sets each start. See /templates/multi-store-opening-gantt-chart and /guides/gantt-chart-staggered-site-rollout.