The Sacramento Municipal Utility District is seeking a $5 million grant from the California Energy Commission to install electric vehicle chargers near apartment complexes in the Sacramento region.
Sacramento’s application is one of eight totaling $28 million statewide to expand the availability of EV charge infrastructure as California nears its zero-emission vehicle mandate set for 2035.
The proposals are on the consent calendar for the commission’s Sept. 11 business meeting in Sacramento, and, if approved, would fund at least 3,100 new public EV chargers statewide.
The money is from the commission's Reliable, Equitable and Accessible Charging for Multifamily Housing, or REACH, program.
SMUD’s proposal is to install at least 300 Level 2 EV charging ports and at least 200 Level 1 EV charging ports within a quarter mile of multifamily housing communities with an emphasis on disadvantaged communities, low-income communities and low-income housing. Level 2 EV chargers can provide about 25 miles of range per hour on the charger. Level 1 EV chargers provide about four miles per hour.
Currently, more than 80% of EV charging is done at the home. That's a problem because not all homes can easily support EV charging, and only 55% of California's population owns a home in the first place, according to the Census Bureau. In SMUD territory, as of last spring, about 85% of EV owners in Sacramento have a home charger.
California has mandated that all new cars sold in the state starting in 2035 be zero-emission vehicles. The mandate covers all new passenger cars and light-duty trucks sold in the state.
This new proposed REACH grant is in addition to a $2.2 million REACH grant awarded to SMUD by the California Energy Commission in 2022.
To make the expansion of EV chargers more streamlined, all the proposals in the pending REACH grant are exempted from California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, permitting and disclosure requirements.
The state is embarking on an aggressive schedule to make more public chargers accessible. In December, the California Energy Commission approved spending $2.9 billion on infrastructure for EVs through 2025.
