Governor Hochul Announces Advancement of Program to Deploy More Than 50,000 New EV Charging Ports Across the State

 

 PSC Votes to Advance 'EV Make-Ready' Program to Incentivize Utilities and Charging Port Makers to Place Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Where it Benefits the Public

Accelerated Deployment of More than 50,000 Public and Commercial Charging Ports — Including 1,500 DC Fast Charging Ports — by 2025 Will Increase NY's Non-Residential Charging Ports by Tenfold

Program Stimulates $1.5 Billion in New Investment, Provides More Than $2.6 Billion in Consumer Benefits

 

Provides Economic Opportunities with $206 Million Dedicated to Benefit Disadvantaged Communities

 Governor Kathy Hochul today announced utility companies can fully implement New York's groundbreaking electric vehicle infrastructure program known as "EV Make-Ready," which will deploy more than 50,000 new public and commercial Level 2 charging ports across the state by 2025 — increasing the number of non-residential charging ports in New York State by more than tenfold within four years.

The announcement follows the State Public Service Commission approving the accounting rules by which all of the major investor-owned utilities in New York State — Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation, Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc., New York State Electric & Gas Corporation, National Grid, Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. and Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation — can continue to implement the program. 

"New York leads the nation in clean energy innovation to combat climate change and bring environmental justice to impacted communities, and today's decision brings us one step closer to a greener, emission-free future," Governor Hochul said. "The EV Make-Ready program is designed to help electrify our transportation sector and support our mandate that all new passenger cars and trucks sold in the state by 2035 be zero-emission, while making sure all New Yorkers benefit from cleaner air and the creation of new, well-paying jobs."

The EV Make-Ready program provides funding for the infrastructure required to support more than 50,000 new public and commercial Level 2 charging ports, capable of charging a vehicle at least two times faster than a standard wall outlet, and 1,500 public DC (direct current) fast charger ports in New York in recognition of the essential role that public fast charging ports will play in the near term to allay range anxiety. Before the program began, there were 4,571 publicly accessible chargers statewide. This program will increase the number of publicly accessible chargers in New York State more than tenfold.

The EV Make-Ready program is funded by investor-owned utilities in New York State and creates a cost-sharing program that incentivizes utilities and charging port developers to site electric vehicle charging infrastructure in places that will provide a maximal benefit to consumers. The Commission capped the total budget at $701 million and it will run through 2025, with a minimum of $206 million allocated toward equitable access and benefits for lower-socio-economic and disadvantaged communities.  EV charging ports in disadvantaged communities are eligible for a higher incentive, supporting up to 100 percent of the costs to make a site ready for EV charging. Rules governing the EV Make-Ready program have been in effect on a temporary basis since Jan. 1, 2021. Today's decision makes those rules permanent.

Encouraging private investment in publicly accessible fast-charging ports will stimulate the EV market in New York over the coming years. While the initial focus was on funding projects located in communities served by investor-owned utilities, the Commission said that the objectives to advance the state's transportation electrification goals, expand access to clean transportation, and reduce emissions in disadvantaged communities are relevant across the entire state.

Public Service Commission Chair Rory M. Christian said, "We must rapidly electrify our transportation system in order to achieve a carbon-neutral economy. New York's clean energy initiatives and the investments planned for the years ahead will ensure that the infrastructure needed to meet our greenhouse reduction targets is in place."

The transportation sector is responsible for the largest contribution to greenhouse gas pollution in the country, with these emissions increasing more than any other sector over the last 30 years. Encouraging accelerated, forward-thinking development of charging infrastructure will provide New Yorkers with more than $2.6 billion in net benefits and supports the achievement of the State's transportation electrification and clean energy goals. Electrifying transportation will allow New Yorkers to power vehicles with cleaner energy sources, with renewables representing a growing portion of the state's electricity supply. Thoughtful siting of charging infrastructure will support reduced installation costs, improve site host-acceptance and maximize use from drivers.

The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), with its service provider, PSEG Long Island, has announced a goal to support 180,000 new EVs on Long Island with 4,745 new EV charging ports by 2025, with a proposed investment of $89 million in make-ready infrastructure over the next four years.

Customers in Long Island and other regions of New York State that fall outside of the investor-owned utility service territories can leverage the innovative prize competition design and administrative capabilities developed by NYSERDA for the "New York Clean Transportation Prizes".

The Commission's objectives to advance the state's transportation electrification goals, expand access to clean transportation, and reduce emissions in disadvantaged communities should be pursued by all communities throughout the state, without regard to the particular electric service provider or regulatory framework that governs that service, and a coordinated, statewide approach is needed to meet the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) requirements, and that all New Yorkers should share in the benefits of the CLCPA.

The CLCPA includes the requirements that all state agencies prioritize greenhouse gas emissions reductions in disadvantaged communities and that no less than 35 percent of the overall benefits of spending on clean energy programs benefit disadvantaged communities. EV Make-Ready costs include utility-owned make-ready work, customer-owned make-ready work, make-ready implementation and other programs costs.

New York State's Nation-Leading Climate Plan

New York State's nation-leading climate agenda is the most aggressive climate and clean energy initiative in the nation, calling for an orderly and just transition to clean energy that creates jobs and continues fostering a green economy as New York State recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Enshrined into law through the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, New York is on a path to achieve its mandated goal of a zero-emission electricity sector by 2040, including 70 percent renewable energy generation by 2030, and to reach carbon neutrality. It builds on New York's unprecedented investments to ramp-up clean energy including over $21 billion in 91 large-scale renewable projects across the state, $6.8 billion to reduce buildings emissions, $1.8 billion to scale up solar, more than $1 billion for clean transportation initiatives, and over $1.2 billion in NY Green Bank commitments. Combined, these investments are supporting more than 150,000 jobs in New York's clean energy sector in 2019, a 2,100 percent growth in the distributed solar sector since 2011 and a commitment to develop 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035. With the Climate Act as its guide, New York will build on this progress and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent from 1990 levels by 2050, while ensuring that at least 35 percent with a goal of 40 percent of the benefits of clean energy investments are directed to disadvantaged communities, and advance progress towards the state's 2025 energy efficiency target of reducing on-site energy consumption by 185 trillion BTUs of end-use energy savings.