Skip to main content

L.A. Expands Electric Car Charger Program

Support Provided By
level-2-charger7-17-13-thumb-600x450-55669
Nissan Leaf at a Level-2 charger | Photo: evgo/Flickr/Creative Commons License

An effort by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to promote customer installations of chargers for electric cars was so successful that the utility is expanding it. LADWP will be offering rebates up to $750 for residents and businesses in its service area who install fast charging stations.

"Our new rebate program builds on the success of our initial EV charger rebate program, which resulted in over 500 residential charger installations in Los Angeles," said DWP General Manager Ron Nichols in a press release. "These significant rebates for our residential and business customers show our strong commitment to supporting electric vehicles. When our customers charge their EVs overnight at their homes, they will be doing so when LADWP's renewable wind resources are typically at their peak, resulting in a truly zero-emission transportation solution."

The Level-2 chargers covered by the rebates in DWP's program "Charge Up LA! -- Home, Work, and On the Go" would be attached to 240-volt circuits similar to those used for heavy household appliances Such chargers top off electric car batteries between three and five times faster than chargers attached to standard American 110-volt outlets. Residential customers who opt for a "time of use" meter, which provides DWP with information on when the vehicle in question gets charged, will receive an additional $250 rebate.

The program also applies to businesses with more than 250 employees who put either Level 2 or 440-volt DC Fast Chargers chargers in their staff parking lots, or who make those chargers available to the public.

LADWP's previous rebate program, which expired at the end of June, was limited to residential chargers. The expanded program starts August 1, and rebates will be granted on a first-come first served basis until June 30, 2015, or until the program runs out of funding, whichever comes first.

Support Provided By
Read More
Gray industrial towers and stacks rise up from behind the pitched roofs of warehouse buildings against a gray-blue sky, with a row of yellow-gold barrels with black lids lined up in the foreground to the right of a portable toilet.

California Isn't on Track To Meet Its Climate Change Mandates. It's Not Even Close.

According to the annual California Green Innovation Index released by Next 10 last week, California is off track from meeting its climate goals for the year 2030, as well as reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.
A row of cows stands in individual cages along a line of light-colored enclosures, placed along a dirt path under a blue sky dotted with white puffy clouds.

A Battle Is Underway Over California’s Lucrative Dairy Biogas Market

California is considering changes to a program that has incentivized dairy biogas, to transform methane emissions into a source of natural gas. Neighbors are pushing for an end to the subsidies because of its impact on air quality and possible water pollution.
A Black woman with long, black brains wears a black Chicago Bulls windbreaker jacket with red and white stripes as she stands at the top of a short staircase in a housing complex and rests her left hand on the metal railing. She smiles slightly while looking directly at the camera.

Los Angeles County Is Testing AI's Ability To Prevent Homelessness

In order to prevent people from becoming homeless before it happens, Los Angeles County officials are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict who in the county is most likely to lose their housing. They would then step in to help those people with their rent, utility bills, car payments and more so they don't become unhoused.