San Diego Gas & Electric has submitted a proposal to the California Public Utilities Commission to install 2,000 additional electric-vehicle chargers at apartments, condominium complexes and workplaces — locations where most charging takes place.
The proposal seeks to extend SDG&E’s Power Your Drive Program, which has already installed more than 3,000 EV chargers at 255 locations. If the CPUC approves SDG&E’s proposed extension program, the company would install chargers at approximately 200 locations over two years.
“Our customers are telling us that they want to see more electric vehicle chargers where they live and work, and we’re enabling customers to save money by charging their vehicles at the right time — when renewable energy is high and demand on the grid is low,” said Estela de Llanos, chief environmental officer at SDG&E.
“By building more EV chargers, we are not just meeting customer demand and managing the grid more efficiently, we are also supporting state mandates to accelerate clean transportation, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality,” she said.
California has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. The state has found that widespread transportation electrification is required to achieve that target because cars and trucks are the largest contributors to emissions.
So the state has set a goal of having 5 million EVs on the road by 2030. SDG&E’s proportion of that target is 500,000, but so far there are only 47,000 in the San Diego County and south Orange County areas.
SDG&E said meeting the EV adoption goal requires a rapid expansion in charging infrastructure, with a particular emphasis on people living in multi-unit communities without easy access to charging.
“Without access to vehicle charging, there is virtually no way for these residents to ever become part of the solution to significantly reduce air pollution,” the company said.
