Plan for 25,000 Chargers Will Help California Meet Clean
Transportation and Climate Goals
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today asked state regulators for
permission to build an estimated 25,000 electric vehicle (EV) chargers
at sites across its service area in Northern and Central California. If
approved, this program would be the largest deployment of EV charging
stations in the country.
The chargers would be located at commercial and public locations,
including multi-family dwellings, retail centers, and workplaces.
Approximately 10 percent of the chargers would be installed to support
disadvantaged communities. PG&E would also provide tools and educational
materials for site hosts and customers to learn about the benefits of
electric vehicles.
“Our proposed build-out of EV charging infrastructure aims to accelerate
customer adoption of clean, quiet, and efficient plug-in vehicles by
reducing lingering range anxiety. It reflects our commitment to helping
the state of California meet its critical clean air and greenhouse gas
emissions reduction goals by promoting cleaner transportation,” said
Tony Earley, chairman, president, and CEO of PG&E Corporation.
“By supporting market acceptance of electric vehicles, it should create
tremendous new opportunities for other infrastructure and technology
companies, help keep California in the forefront of EV innovation, and
create new jobs in local communities across Northern and Central
California,” Earley said.
More than 60,000 plug-in electric vehicles are currently registered in
PG&E’s service area, which represents more than a fifth of all EVs in
the United States. The Governor’s Office has called for 1.5 million
zero-emission vehicles in California by 2025 to help meet the state’s
ambitious goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent below
1990 levels by 2050. To support that plan, industry models suggest that
PG&E’s service area will need about 100,000 Level 2 chargers in public
locations by 2020.
All of the 25,000 stations PG&E proposes to build would have Level 2
chargers, which provide up to 25 miles of range for every hour of
charging. To support travel between metropolitan areas, PG&E would also
install at key locations 100 DC fast chargers, which can recharge an
EV’s battery in only 30 minutes. A growing number of DC fast charging
stations are being deployed along the “West
Coast Electric Highway,” which serves drivers from British Columbia
to Baja California.
The chargers would be provided at no cost to the site host. PG&E
proposes to own all of the infrastructure, but contract with third
parties to build, install and maintain the chargers and manage customer
billing. The utility expects that the program will take about five years
to complete following approval by the California Public Utilities
Commission.
The cost of PG&E’s plan, if approved, would be shared by all electric
customers as a contribution to helping the state meet its clean air and
climate goals.
The total impact on system average bundled rates would be minimal in
2016 and 2017 and would average only a tenth of a cent per kilowatt-hour
over the next five years of the program. A typical residential customer
would pay about 70 cents more per month over the period 2018 to 2022.
PG&E is a strong supporter of transportation electrification for a
cleaner environment. The utility has more than 1,200 electric-base
vehicles in its fleet, and is a leader in introducing new electric
technology into its vehicles. It was one of the first utilities in the
country to offer money-saving rate plans for EV customer charging. It
recently announced a major smart-charging pilot program with automaker
BMW. Earley is co-chair of the Edison Electric Institute’s Electric
Transportation Task Force.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E
Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas
and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco,
with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the
nation’s cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and
Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/
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Source: Pacific Gas and Electric Company