California Proposes Another $1 Billion for EV Charging

By Christian Roselund

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has published a proposed decision that would dedicate another $1 billion to subsidize behind the meter EV charging infrastructure at residential, commercial, and industrial sites from 2025 through 2030. The program would be fully funded by customers of the state’s three largest investor-owned utilities: Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE), and San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) and administered by a third party.

70% of the funds would be reserved for medium- and heavy-duty charging and 30% of the funds would go to light-duty charging at or near multi-family housing. At least 65% of the total budget would be reserved for under-served communities.

The new $1 billion program is in addition to the $1.8 billion in funds for EV infrastructure that has already been authorized by CPUC, of which $1.48 billion remains to be spent. Additionally, California will receive $348 million over five years from the U.S. Department of Transportation to further build out its fast-charging network on major highways (See the 4 October 2022 US Energy Transition Report for more information).

The need is there: California already has 1.2 million electric cars, pickup trucks, and SUVs, but only 79,023 public and private shared chargers. According to a 2021 report, California will need up to 1.2 million EV chargers to support 8 million electric vehicles by 2030.

The CPUC filing envisions that a second phase of the program would begin in 2030, with details yet to be determined. A date to vote on the proposed decision has not been announced, but it could be approved as early as CPUC’s 17 November 2022 meeting.

News coverage: Calif. regulators consider $1B in rebates to plug EV charging gaps (S&P Global)

Source: Decision on Transportation Electrification Policy and Investment (CPUC)