Multifamily Housing and Small Business EV Charger Program

Any multifamily housing property with 5-49 units is eligible. Affordable (deed-restricted) multifamily housing properties of any size are also eligible.

Priority communities include low-income communities, rural communities, tribal communities and other priority populations defined by the California Public Utilities Commission and California Air Resources Board.

Enter your address on the Priority Communities Map to see if your property qualifies for the installation of EV chargers at no cost.

Using the map

1. Open the Priority Communities Map.
   
   

   Please note: If the top right of the map indicates “Open in Map Viewer,” you are on the correct version of the map. It will allow you to search your site address. If the top right indicates “Open in Map View Classic,” click on that button to switch to the correct view.

2. Expand the “Details” feature and ensure the Priority Communities criteria are selected under “Show Contents of Map” (middle icon):
   
   • Low-income community (less than 80% Area Median Income)
   • Low-income community (less than 80% State Median Income)
   • Tribal Land
   • CA Disadvantaged Community - Top 25%
3. Also under “Details,” click on “Show Map Legend” (third icon) to view the color designations for each criterion.
4. Enter site address in the “Find address or place” field. Press enter or click on the magnifying glass.
5. The map will return a result showing which criteria the site address meets or does not meet.

Please note: Go back to the Content tab and deselect each criterion to view the overlap of criteria.

Affordable multifamily housing properties are eligible to participate if they are located outside of a priority community. Market-rate multifamily housing (not subsidized or limited to any specific income level) located outside of priority communities will be placed on a waiting list and notified when funds are available.

A market-rate multifamily housing property that is not physically located in a priority community may be prioritized for participation if more than 66% of the dwelling units are occupied by households with incomes at or below 80% of the county’s Area Median Income (AMI).

Under the program, an organization or small business must be:

• Independently owned and operated
• Not dominant in field of operation
• Have its principal office located in California
• Have owners (or officers if a corporation) domiciled in California

If the small business includes affiliates, the affiliate(s) must also be one of the following:

• A business with 100 or fewer employees and average annual gross receipts of $16 million or less over the last three tax years;
• A manufacturer with 100 or fewer employees; or
• A micro business. Note: A small business will be automatically designated as a micro business if gross annual receipts are $5,000,000 or less, or if it is a manufacturer with 25 or fewer employees.
• The average annual kilowatt hours (kWh) usage of the organization or small business site listed on their application must be less than 500,000 kWh, which will be verified by PG&E upon receipt of application.

Ecology Action will evaluate the site to determine if there is enough electrical capacity to add EV chargers. They will also evaluate parking spaces for EV charging at eligible sites. There is no cost for this technical assessment service.

Level 1 charging adds about 5-6 miles of driving range per hour of charging time. Level 1 is the slowest method of charging but is sufficient for drivers who charge overnight and travel 30–40 miles per day, and drivers with plug-In hybrid vehicles with lower battery ranges. The driver uses their own charging cable that comes with the vehicle to plug into a 120–volt AC 'smart outlet.” Level 1 charging works well for charging at home or work when you have sufficient time to charge.

Level 2 charging is faster than Level 1. It is an installed charging station with its own charging cable, also known as electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE). A Level 2 EVSE requires more panel capacity and a dedicated 240–volt or 208–volt electrical circuit.  Depending on the electric vehicle's battery type, charger configuration and circuit capacity, Level 2 charging adds about 14 – 35 miles of range per hour of charging time.

No, public access is not required. Multifamily property operators may choose to install EV chargers in assigned resident and staff parking, or to install EV chargers in shared parking spaces available to all residents and staff. Small businesses and organizations may install chargers in employee parking areas or for their light-duty fleet vehicles utilized for business operations.

The program participant will own and maintain the EV charging stations. Ecology Action will develop and implement site-specific Operations & Maintenance (O&M) plans. The O&M plans will be created in collaboration with the program participants.

Ecology Action installs the chargers on behalf of PG&E.

PG&E will pay for two years of networking and software fees for sites located in priority communities.

Your EV charging  service provider (EVSP) determines the networking and software fees. Some EVSPs charge monthly fees to the site host, and some pass these fees on directly to the driver.