The California Public Utilities Commission has approved a $1 billion fund to expand electric commercial vehicle charging infrastructure, specifically medium and heavy duty trucks.
The California Public Utilities Commission will allocate 70 percent of funds to electric truck charging infrastructure with the remaining 30 percent going towards charging light duty EVs in or near multi-unit residences.
“It’s the highest priority,” Commissioner Clifford Rechtschaffen said. “We have very stringent state goals established by the Air Resources Board to electrify medium- and heavy-duty trucks and they need charging infrastructure in order to electrify their fleets.”
Funds will be prioritized for low-income and tribal areas, with 65% of funds going to underserved communities. No money goes into installing EV charging infrastructure in individual homes.
The program will run for five years from 2025 to 2029, with $200 million allocated annually through state utilities. The money will be given back to the customer in the form of rebates.
Details are still to be discussed where customers wishing to install charging may need to apply to a third party administrator to receive a discounted price.
Charging infrastructure for trucks will be installed at strategic locations including truck stops, ports and at fleet facilities.
After three years of the program to see if it was too much for tariff payers to bear, the Office of the Public Advocate said utility customers would not have to fund the project.
“Increasing electricity rates to fund the country’s [greenhouse gas] reduction initiatives, therefore, places a disproportionate burden on low-income families,” the watchdog said. “It is also counterproductive because it increases the fuel costs of electric vehicles, which in turn reduces incentives to buy electric vehicles.”
