An electric drive system includes a rechargeable energy storage unit, a power inverter, an electric motor and a controller having a processor and tangible, non-transitory memory on which instructions are recorded. A transfer of electrical power between the rechargeable energy storage unit and the electric motor is governed by a pulse width modulation (PWM) switching frequency. The controller is configured to determine a current switching frequency based in part on a PWM type, a PWM switching frequency style and an inverter direct current voltage. A PWM scalar is determined based in part on the current switching frequency and a maximum value of a control reference frequency. The controller is configured to transmit a command signal to regulate the transfer of electrical power based in part on the PWM scalar, the PWM switching frequency being proportional to a product of the PWM scalar and the control reference frequency.