The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved a set of timelines for new residential buildings, commercial businesses, and EV charging stations to connect to the grid.
The timelines are the implementation of the Powering Up Californians Act (Senate Bill 410). The law, which was passed in 2023, tasked the commission and utilities with ensuring the grid is ready to support EV charging and building electrification at scale.
According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, the decision applies to California’s three largest investor-owned utilities: Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), San Diego Gas & Electric (SDGE), and Southern California Edison (SCE). The move is an important step toward reducing delays related to advancing the state’s climate and air quality standards.
For most residential, public, and workplace EV charging stations, the commission set an average energization target of 182 days, or six months, with a maximum of 335 days, or 11 months, representing a 49 percent improvement.
Large, public fast-charging plazas or sites have a maximum deadline of 1.8 years for circuit upgrades, 2.8 years for substation upgrades, and 8.9 years for new substations. The maximum timelines represent the current average time to complete these types of projects, meaning the utilities will need to improve their averages going forward.
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