Piloting the EV Charge Schools program, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has broken ground on the first of its 130 new electric vehicle (EV) charging ports at 22 schools in its service area in California.
The first installation in EV Charge Schools Program is at Eastside College Preparatory School in East Palo Alto, California.
“By increasing charging access at schools, we strive to make electric vehicles a viable option for more Californians. Expanding the use of clean transportation and reducing vehicle emissions is good for our state, our customers and the environment,” said PG&E’s Aaron August, Vice President, Business Development and Customer Engagement.
Overall, PG&E’s EV Charge Schools program aims to help fill charging gaps at these locations and support California’s clean transportation and decarbonization goals.
Through the EV Charge Schools program, PG&E will install Level 2 charging stations at school facilities and educational institutions for staff, parents and students to charge their EVs, with access varying by location.
PG&E will help fund the costs of purchasing and installing the EV charging equipment and networking fees at these schools as well as ongoing maintenance and operations.
With up to 40% of the new chargers located in disadvantaged communities, the pilot will help to bring EV charging options to customers who might not have had them before.
PG&E also will develop an EV and sustainability curriculum for all schools in its service area along with teacher training options.
The kindergarten through grade 12 curriculum will allow teachers to connect classroom learning to real-world infrastructure and help expand awareness of clean energy transportation.
Clean transportation efforts are a central pillar of PG&E’s Climate Strategy Report, which outlines the company’s plans to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, five years ahead of the state’s target, and to start actively removing more greenhouse gases from the environment than it emits by 2050.
These recent commitments build upon PG&E’s history of leadership in the area of clean transportation.
Over 420,000 EVs have been sold in PG&E’s service area, representing one in six EVs in the country.