Utilities would triple electric vehicle charging stations at apartments

The Public Utilities Commission would set targets for each electric utility to submit project applications for apartment charging stations. Multifamily housing means residential properties with five or more units. The commission must ensure the targets reduce costs for all ratepayers. The commission must establish the targets on or before March 1, 2027.

Each utility would install charging stations at multifamily housing in its service area. The target applies to stations at multifamily housing, meaning residential properties with five or more units, in each utility’s service area. Stations may be installed only where the electrical system can support them without a capacity upgrade. They must be networked and able to manage charging to reduce peak electrical loads. Users would pay a time-of-use retail electricity rate. Utilities must use available funding from sources other than ratepayers; remaining costs would be recovered as operating and maintenance costs, while utility-side capital costs are treated separately. The number of stations is measured against those in each utility’s service area on January 1, 2027; the target must be met on or before December 31, 2037.

The commission would decide whether to require utilities to prioritize sites expected to have the highest use and submit maps and yearly progress reports. These reporting and mapping duties apply to each electrical corporation and its service territory. The maps would identify proposed properties where use is expected to be highest, based on utility planning and experience with charging programs. Utilities must report progress annually and provide the maps; the text gives no first reporting date.