New initiative makes EV charging more accessible 

San Diegans who use Park and Ride lots to access public transportation now have more electric vehicle (EV) charging options, thanks to the recent installation of 88 EV chargers at four different locations throughout San Diego County. 

Park and Ride locations in Chula Vista, National City, El Cajon, and Oceanside are now each equipped with 20 Level 2 (240 volt) chargers and two direct current (DC) (480 volt) fast chargers under an initiative led by San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) called the Electrify Local Highways program. 

“SDG&E is ready to power your drive with new EV charging options open to the public,” said Estela de Llanos, vice president, clean transportation sustainability, and chief environmental officer. “Working collaboratively with our local transportation agency partners, SDG&E is excited to take another step toward accelerating the clean transportation movement to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality in our region.”

SDG&E has ongoing collaboration with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), and the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) to expand the charging network to support zero-emission transportation. 

“A cleaner, greener future is dependent on reducing the number of fossil fuel-dependent vehicles on our roads. This includes cars and public transit vehicles,” said San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, who chairs the MTS board and also serves on the California Air Resources Board (CARB). “MTS is already on a path toward transitioning its fleet of 800 buses to zero-emissions. This infrastructure is an important step in giving San Diego residents the flexibility to even further reduce their carbon footprint while choosing transit.”

Electrify Local Highways, funded through Senate Bill 350 (SB 350), recognizes that widespread transportation electrification is required to meet the state’s goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 and to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. The state’s transportation sector accounts for more than 40% of all GHGs, according to CARB.

“Partnerships are critical to reach California’s air quality and climate goals, that includes expanding our State’s EV charging infrastructure,” said Gustavo Dallarda, Caltrans District 11 Director. “Making EV charging stations available at San Diego’s Park and Rides is a significant investment for communities and our transportation system to advance gas emission reduction goals.”

The Electrify Local Highways program builds on SDG&E’s earlier clean transportation initiatives to reduce GHGs in the region. Under the Power Your Drive program, SDG&E has installed around 3,000 chargers at apartments, condo complexes and workplaces. Last year, SDG&E was approved to build charging infrastructure for a minimum of 3,000 plug-in medium-duty and heavy-duty (MD/HD) EVs and equipment, including transit buses, school buses, delivery trucks, and forklifts. And SDG&E was also approved to bring approximately 340 EV chargers to some of the most frequented community facilities in the region – schools, parks, and beaches.

“These new Park and Ride chargers are vital to the expanded adoption of electric vehicles,” said SANDAG Chair and Poway Mayor Steve Vaus. “SANDAG is developing strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the 2021 Regional Plan and has committed $30 million over 30 years through a rebate program to increase the number of publicly accessible chargers in the region.”

Today, over 52,000 people drive EVs in the San Diego region. To meet the state goal of having five million EVs on the road, our region’s proportion is 500,000. 

As part of separate pilot programs under SB 350, SDG&E has also installed charging equipment for electric delivery vehicles and shuttles, ground support equipment at the San Diego International Airport, and trucks, forklifts and other equipment at the Port of San Diego.

To learn more about SDG&E’s clean transportation initiatives, visit www.sdge.com/electrification-projects.

New EV charging locations can be found at:

Chula Vista:  1244 Oleander Avenue, Chula Vista, CA  
National City:  2300 Sweetwater Road, National City, CA  
El Cajon: 13516 Camino Canada, El Cajon, CA  
Oceanside: 1928 S. Moreno Street, Oceanside, CA

SDG&E is an innovative San Diego-based energy company that provides clean, safe and reliable energy to better the lives of the people it serves in San Diego and southern Orange counties. The company is committed to creating a sustainable future by providing its electricity from renewable sources; modernizing natural gas pipelines; accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles; supporting numerous non-profit partners; and, investing in innovative technologies to ensure the reliable operation of the region’s infrastructure for generations to come. SDG&E is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE). For more information, visit SDGEnews.com or connect with SDG&E on Twitter (@SDGE), Instagram (@SDGE) and Facebook.