Pacific Gas and Electric announced plans Thursday to install infrastructure for 16,000 electric vehicle charging ports, including Level 2 and fast chargers, at public locations such as shopping centers and park-and-ride lots, as well as sites convenient for apartment residents.

Under the plan, which still must receive approval from the California Public Utilities Commission, PG&E would install electrical infrastructure to connect parking spaces to the electric grid or offer rebates for the electrical work. In some cases, the company would also install EV chargers.

PG&E would pay for some of or all the work, depending on the type of customer. For example, the utility would cover all costs for certain multifamily housing sites.

The company said that increasing the availability of public charging may boost EV adoption by reassuring drivers that they’ll be able to charge when they’re away from home. It also provides a place to plug in for drivers who don’t have charging at home.

Increasing Adoption

In a press release, PG&E noted that more than 360,000 EVs are registered in its service area, accounting for almost one-fifth of all EVs in the U.S. The company serves Northern and Central California.

“With this proposed program, we believe we can continue doing our part to expand EV charging infrastructure for our customers, which is a critical component of increasing EV adoption,” Aaron August, PG&E’s vice president of business development and customer engagement, said in a statement.

“Reducing vehicle emissions is good for our state and good for the environment,” he added.

PG&E’s proposal also includes measures to help promote equitable EV adoption. Those include gathering community input on where to install chargers and offering grants to community groups that have ideas on how to increase EV adoption.

EV car-share partnerships would be pursued as part of the program, and at least half the infrastructure spending would be earmarked for underserved communities.

Previous Program Completed

PG&E’s proposal would build on its first EV charging infrastructure program, called EV Charge Network, which began in 2018 and was recently completed.

Under that program, PG&E installed 4,827 Level 2 charging ports at 192 locations in 66 cities across its service area, the company announced this month. The cities included Bakersfield, Chico, Fresno, Grass Valley, Red Bluff and San Jose.

In the EV Charge Network program, PG&E paid for and built electrical infrastructure from the grid to the parking space at each site. The company also covered some of or all the cost of the charger for participating customers. The program included 1,859 charging ports in disadvantaged communities.

PG&E is running several other EV-related programs. Those include the EV Fleet program, in which the company will install or help cover the cost of electrical infrastructure for medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles. The program is aiming for infrastructure at 700 sites by 2024 to support the adoption of 6,500 vehicles.

Another initiative is the EV Fast Charge Program, which aims to install more than 50 DC fast-charging plazas in highway corridors and urban areas.

Four fast chargers were installed this year at a 7-Eleven store in West Sacramento as part of the program.