The California Energy Commission approved a $1.4 billion plan to create more chargers for electric vehicles (EVs). The policy would result in an estimated 17,000 new chargers.
California currently has more than 152,000 public and private chargers, The Washington Post reported.
According to a press release on the matter, the funding is “part of the $48 billion California Climate Commitment, which includes more than $10 billion for ZEVs and ZEV infrastructure.”
CEC’s Lead Commissioner for Transportation, Patty Monahan, said in a statement that the “investment plan reaffirms California’s commitment to funding zero-emission refueling infrastructure.”
“The plan prioritizes clean air benefits in low-income and disadvantaged communities that need it the most. There is no doubt – ZEVs are here to stay in the Golden State,” she explained.
The plan comes as the state has already announced a proposal that would double the size of a tax credit program supporting Hollywood as well as proposed a $25 million legal fund to combat the goals of the incoming Trump administration.
Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino), leader of the budget committee, warned that the state needs to restrain from spending, saying that lawmakers must be “cautious and prudent going forward, and we should be very clear-eyed about the tough choices that lie ahead,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) said in November that “consumers continue to prove the skeptics wrong – zero-emission vehicles are here to stay. We will intervene if the Trump Administration eliminates the federal tax credit, doubling down on our commitment to clean air and green jobs in California. We’re not turning back on a clean transportation future — we’re going to make it more affordable for people to drive vehicles that don’t pollute.”
