Faster Electric Vehicle Charging Will Be Available in Southern California by 2015

February 11th, 2014 by Fiedler Group

Thanks to recent action taken by the SCAQMD Governing Board, by 2015, plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) will be able to be charged in the matter of minutes, rather than hours.

All-electric vehicles including Nissan Leafs, Mitsubishi IMEVs, GM Sparks, Teslas, and other electric vehicles will be charged by direct current (DC) Fast Chargers.

Fast Charger stations are able to completely recharge electric batteries in less than 20 minutes, which is much faster than the regular 110V and 220V AC charging units found in most homes, that normally take hours to fully charge.

The charging improvements were made possible in December when the SCAQMD approved Clean Fuel Connection, Inc. in partnership with eVgo to install and maintain twenty DC Fast Chargers.

The twenty new chargers will be integrated into eVgo’s existing network of 100 DC fast chargers located along major freeways in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Under the agreement, eVgo will operate the network for five years at no cost and provide pay-per-use or subscription payment models.

Fast charging advancements like this help make electrical vehicles more practical and popular — especially if electric vehicle car owners are able to charge their cars while grocery shopping or dining.