Southern California Edison is seeking $570 million from ratepayers to fund electric vehicle charging stations and other electric transportation services, it announced Monday.
The company filed its proposal with the California Public Utilities Commission, which is expected to decide whether to approve it this year.
“This filing lays out a clear plan to accelerate the adoption of electric transportation, which is critical to California achieving its climate change and environmental goals,” SCE President Ron Nichols said in a statement.
The funds, to be collected from ratepayers over a five-year period, would increase customers’ electricity bills by up to 0.5 percent. The money would support several programs to promote electric vehicle transportation, including:
• Building and operating charging stations for buses and trucks;
• Building a total of 50 fast-charging ports at five station clusters in urban areas, specifically designed to charge electric vehicles in under 30 minutes;
• Rate incentives for vehicle owners to charge their vehicles during off-peak periods;
• Customer rebates for installing residential charging stations; and
• Port electrification projects, including for cargo-handling port equipment.
Public policy and energy reporter Howard Fine can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @howardafine.