The lack of charging infrastructures is one of the main obstacles that impede the adoption of electric vehicles. That said, a $52.2 million program for EV charging infrastructure was initiated by the California Public Utilities Commission on December 15, as reported by CBS News.
Purpose of the program
The California Public Utilities Commission seeks to build 2,822 EV charging infrastructures around the state through reputable firms, Pacific Gas and Electric.
Notably, the most accessible locations and underserved areas of the state will receive the charging stations.
Other approved initiatives
The California government introduced a new policy that establishes a deadline for utility providers to install EV charging stations on Thursday. Under the new regulation, utility companies must make sure of the following:
- link EV charging station users to the grid in 125 days
- make the procedure simpler and smoother for the customers
- collate data to discover the bottlenecks that occur in the energization process
Furthermore, the California Air Resources Board has also stipulated that all new cars sold in the state, including buses and trucks, must be clean energy vehicles. However, there must be sufficient charging infrastructure to aid all these EVs.
“Today’s energization decision takes big steps to speed up the process of connecting new EV chargers to the electric grid and to make sure utilities provide customers information about how that process works.”
CPUC Commissioner Clifford Rechtschaffen
Remarkably, the CPUC authorized utility providers to allot approximately $1.8 billion of their resources for charging infrastructures. For instance, PG&E will allocate 65% of its resources to building EV charging stations in underserved areas. Essentially, it would result in substantially cheaper EV charging costs than gas pricing.
With these government initiatives, it is no surprise that California is currently leading the country in electric vehicle adoption.
