Southern California Cities Future-Proof Their Communities with EV Charging Infrastructure
California leads the way in the United States as more than 4% of its automotive fleet is electric. Because electrifying transportation is a globally growing trend, three Southern California cities collaborated with EV Connect and Southern California Edison’s Charge Ready pilot program to provide modern electric vehicle infrastructure and management software to accelerate their sustainability initiatives for their community.
The Challenge
Transportation builds thriving communities, creates jobs, and eases traffic congestion. Although it is an important component of the economy, 29% of transportation pollution comes from the gasoline in internal combustion engines, which causes poor air quality and the associated public health issues, creating a rise in healthcare costs.
Many cities and local governments have already begun to adopt more eco-friendly practices and are setting various goals to scale electric vehicle adoption. Cities are the forefront of electrifying transportation and work to find various solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. That is the same for three notable cities in Southern California, where over 90% of Californians breathe unhealthy level of one or more air pollutants during some part of the year.
The idea to promote sustainability and electrify transportation was raised and eventually adopted. Three cities and their administrators began to plan for EV adoption and EV charging infrastructure, taking finances, timelines, budgets, and population into account. However, there were still questions and new factors that remained. Where will these chargers be installed? Who will manage the operations and maintenance? Do we charge visitors using the charging stations? Do we pay for the installation and equipment costs upfront? City administrators decided they needed a reliable partner to guide them the process.
The Solution
To encourage cities to invest in their EV infrastructure, Southern California Edison, one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, created the Charge Ready Pilot program with $22M in incentive funding. Three Southern California cities applied for and secured funding from this robust rebate program, allowing city planners and administrators to offset equipment and installation costs.
The cities also partnered with EV Connect, who provided proactive support by simplifying the installation, set-up, and optimization of charging stations with their open management platform, allowing them the flexibility to scale as needed and the option to change hardware in the future.
The Result
The three cities in Southern California are an example of how local governments and municipalities can provide a valuable service to their residents and visitors. By installing EV charging infrastructure, cities can present an opportunity to market themselves as leaders in sustainability and electrifying transportation.
These Southern California Cities now operate:
Six dual port EV charging stations at the Palmdale transportation center.
Fourteen EV charging stations in the City of Fontana with a rate of $0.25 per kWh
Forty-six EV charging stations in a city located in San Bernardino County
Combined, the Southern California cities have had more than 25,000 charge sessions
A total of 244,643kg of greenhouse gases prevented
This summer, SCE will be launching the Charge Ready Program with additional funding. The largest light-duty electric vehicle charging program prepares to provide funding for 38,000 EV chargers over the next four years to support California’s shift to electrifying transportation. EV Connect is here to help California property owners meet the growing demand for EV charging stations.