SAN DIEGO, Jan. 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved San Diego
Gas & Electric's (SDG&E) Electric Vehicle Grid-Integration
pilot project, signaling the "green light" for the company to own
and install thousands of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at
businesses and multi-family communities, including in underserved
neighborhoods, throughout San
Diego and south Orange Counties. An important program
benefit is that it should maximize the use of renewable energy to
charge electric vehicles and minimize the need for new fossil-fuel
power plants.
"Today's decision not only creates an exciting new opportunity
for us to better serve our customers, it also delivers a real
solution to achieving California's
ambitious climate goals," said Jim
Avery, chief development officer of SDG&E. "This pilot
program will provide us with a unique opportunity to support the
increased adoption of zero-emission vehicles to reduce smog and
other pollutants created by the transportation sector in
California."
In 2012, Gov. Jerry Brown set a
bold vision of having 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on the
road in California by 2025. For
the San Diego region to meet a
mere 10 percent of that target – 150,000 electric vehicles – EV
growth and supporting infrastructure must increase at a much
quicker pace. SDG&E is now poised and positioned to accelerate
the EV race.
Today, the San Diego region has
only 19,000 EVs and the barriers to clean transportation are
particularly sobering. Fifty percent of SDG&E's customers live
in multi-family communities. 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 or to create
real personal savings by eliminating gasoline bills. SDG&E's
initiative will help address gaps like this in the market and
ensure charging is accessible to all customers.
The company will install charging stations at up to 350
businesses and multi-family communities throughout the region, with
10 chargers at each location for a total of 3,500 separate
chargers. SDG&E will install at least 10 percent of the
chargers in disadvantaged communities. SDG&E's project
will overcome many current obstacles to EV growth and reassure
local EV drivers that they will have a place to charge their
vehicles.
In addition to expanding access to EVs, the pilot features
special rates that encourage EV drivers to charge their cars when
electricity supply, including renewable energy, is plentiful and
energy prices are low. With rates encouraging off-peak
charging, vehicles will be efficiently integrated onto the grid,
helping to avoid on-peak charging that drives the need to build
more power plants and other electric infrastructure.
California has led the way to
de-carbonizing electricity over the last several decades, helping
to pave the way for the modernization of the transportation
sector. With SDG&E's energy portfolio being made up of 33
percent renewable energy and no coal, drivers will be plugging into
one of the cleanest electric grids in the country.
Furthermore, with the pilot's special rate encouraging drivers to
charge exactly at the times of day when solar power is at its
height, customers will literally be driving on sunshine.
SDG&E has an extensive track record of promoting electric
vehicles, both in the community and for its employees. Last year,
the company launched the "Race to 500," an innovative clean
transportation program that targets SDG&E becoming one of the
first Southern California
businesses to have 500 employees driving EVs as their primary form
of transportation. To date, 200 employees have purchased or leased
an EV, with the company offering incentives paid for by
shareholders and easy access to workplace charging to encourage the
shift. SDG&E has installed more than 158 electric charging
stations at company facilities, which is the most of any location
in San Diego. SDG&E also is
adding 163 more plug-in EVs to its fleet as part of a five-year
purchase plan.
For those interested in learning more about this EV charging
station program, email EV@sdge.com.
SDG&E is a regulated public utility that provides safe and
reliable energy service to 3.5 million consumers through 1.4
million electric meters and 881,000 natural gas meters in
San Diego and southern
Orange counties. The utility's
area spans 4,100 square miles. SDG&E is committed to
creating ways to help customers save energy and money every
day. SDG&E is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a
Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in San Diego. Connect with SDG&E's Customer
Contact Center at 800-411-7343, on Twitter (@SDGE) and
Facebook.
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SOURCE San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E)