California’s EV charging network is getting a boost from two different directions: a state program aimed at providing high-density Level 2 chargers in underserved areas and the opening of Tesla’s charging network to non-Tesla vehicles. 

Both developments were discussed during the California Energy Commission’s monthly business meeting March 13. 

The commission voted for a $6 million grant to Los Angeles County to install 300 public chargers in an underserved area of East L.A. The proposal was submitted in response to the CEC’s CHILL-2 solicitation, which stands for Convenient, High-visibility, Low-Cost Level 2 Charging. 

The idea behind CHILL-2 is to increase public confidence in the availability of Level 2 chargers through high-density, high-visibility installations. 

During the same CEC meeting, Chair David Hochschild announced Tesla has begun opening its charging network to non-Tesla vehicles in California. He called the wider access a “really important milestone on our journey to a clean transportation future.” 

“The Tesla network is very well-maintained,” Hochschild said. “The chargers are very fast. The site selection is excellent.” 

Hochschild said the Tesla charging network opened first to Ford EVs, with other makes to be added throughout the year. 

Ford announced Feb. 29 it is providing an adapter needed for its EVs to use Tesla chargers. The adapter is available at no cost to members of the company’s BlueOval Charge Network through June 30. 

As of March 18, Tesla’s website listed Ford and Rivian as EVs supported on Tesla chargers, with General Motors, Volvo and Polestar coming this spring. The company noted many new non-Tesla EVs soon will have built-in North American Charging Standard (NACS) ports and won’t need the adapters.

California had 43,344 public EV chargers and 61,668 shared-private chargers as of March 1, for a total of 105,012, according to a CEC dashboard. Tesla chargers accounted for 62% of public DC fast chargers and 20% of total public chargers, CEC staff told NetZero Insider. 

A draft report from the CEC last year estimated the state will need more than 2 million chargers at public and shared-private locations by 2035 to support more than 15 million light-duty EVs. (See Report Shows Rapidly Growing Need for EV Chargers in California.)

Curbside Charging

In the L.A. County project, at least 300 Level 2 charging ports will be installed at five sites within a seven-square-mile area centered near the Ramona Gardens housing development in East L.A. 

The plan is to install 180 chargers in city-owned parking lots or parking structures and 120 chargers at “community curbside” locations on existing LED light posts. No site upgrades are needed, which will help keep costs down. 

“These chargers will result in a high-density and high-volume deployment that will be publicly accessible to all light-duty electric vehicle drivers,” the commission said in a resolution approving the funding. 

The networked chargers will be tied to other charging infrastructure and a central dashboard, allowing the county to “intelligently implement load management,” according to the scope-of-work for the project. 

The CEC has about $25 million through its Clean Transportation Program to fund CHILL-2 projects. L.A. County will provide a $2 million match.

Another two projects from the CHILL-2 solicitation were approved in February. 

The commission approved $4.6 million for Eneridge Inc. to install 400 Level 2 charging ports at 13 sites in Irvine. Another $5.8 million was approved for FlashParking to install 446 charging ports at 14 sites in Oakland, including two sites with battery storage.