Cárdenas Highlights California Will Receive Over $56 Million to Install Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
SAN FERNANDO VALLEY — Today, Congressman Tony Cárdenas (CA-29) announced that the U.S. Departments of Transportation and Energy have made $56.7 million available for California from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to install electric vehicle (EV) charging stations along key roads and highways. Passed by the Democratic Congress and signed into law by President Biden, these investments will create good-paying jobs to improve charger access for California drivers, help protect California’s environment and support American car manufacturers’ rapidly-growing EV production.
“Electric cars are the future,” said Congressman Cárdenas. “As more and more families begin to drive electric, we need to make sure they can find convenient charging stations near our roads and highways. This funding I helped secure will strengthen EV charging infrastructure here in Los Angeles — paving the way for easier driving and supporting good-paying local jobs. One of my top priorities has always been addressing the climate crisis, and these investments will help us as we work to reduce pollution and transform into a clean economy. Overall, this is a major victory for Los Angeles drivers, our economy and the environment!”
Los Angeles is the most EV-friendly city in California with 3,292 public charging stations, 542 of which are free EV charging stations. Los Angeles has a total of 315 DC Fast Chargers, 76 of which are Tesla Superchargers.
The United States’ network of 100,000 chargers is currently insufficient to service the growing number of EV owners — and also struggles with inconsistent plug types, payment options and data availability. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is investing in good-paying union jobs to address these shortcomings, advancing President Biden’s goal to expand the U.S. network to 500,000 chargers and grow electric vehicles sales to 50 percent of the automobile market by 2030.
This funding comes from the Department of Transportation’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program (NEVI), which is being administered by the Federal Highway Administration. The NEVI Program will provide nearly $5 billion over five years to help states create a network of EV charging stations along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors, particularly along the Interstate Highway System. The total amount available to states in Fiscal Year 2022 under the NEVI Formula Program is $615 million. A second, competitive grant program designed to further increase EV charging access in locations throughout the country, including underserved communities, will be announced later this year. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law included a total of $7.5 billion in grants for electric vehicle charging stations and alternative fuel infrastructure.
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