Increased Numbers of Readily Accessible Charging Stations Expected to Encourage More Electric Vehicle Purchasing by New York Consumers

Electric Vehicle Deployment Will Play a Key Role in Meeting the Dramatic Carbon Reduction Goals Under Governor's Green New Deal While Combating Climate Change

ALBANY — The New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) today improved its direct current fast-charging (DCFC) infrastructure program. Specifically, the Commission clarified certain rules and modified others to allow brand-specific proprietary plugs to be eligible for incentives where the charging station also makes available commonly accepted standardized plug types. The plugs must be capable of charging two vehicles simultaneously at high capacity charging speeds. In making its decision, the Commission is also promoting publicly available electric charging stations to meet the state’s Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) goals.

“To achieve a carbon-neutral economy we must more rapidly electrify the transportation sector,” said Commission Chair John B. Rhodes. “Increasing the number of conveniently located and accessible charging stations will eliminate many of the primary barriers to electric vehicle ownership. Encouraging electric vehicles is central to Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's clean-transportation and clean energy goals to reduce our carbon footprint.”

In February 2019, to promote publicly available electric charging stations to meet the state’s ZEV goals, the Commission approved an initiative to make nearly 1,075 new, publicly accessible fast-charging plugs eligible for annual incentives of up to $31.6 million. These fast-charging stations provide greater convenience for electric vehicle (EV) owners and are able to charge a long-range EV in 20 minutes as compared to 20 hours using a typical home charger, or four to eight hours using a level-two charger. As of March 10, 2020, there were 1,604 Level 2 EV charging stations installed statewide with a total of 4,498 plugs. Of those, 126 are DCFC with 544 charging ports.

In July 2019, the Commission modified its DCFC infrastructure program to remove technology-specific references and make all fast-charging plugs at newly constructed charging stations eligible for an incentive provided that the station includes a standardized plug type of equal or greater charging capability as the proprietary plugs being installed.

The purpose of the DCFC per-plug incentive is to provide an economic incentive to all private sector actors to build out the infrastructure necessary to meet the fast charging demands of the State’s ZEV deployment goals. Leveraging third-party contributions to meet public policy goals is a core objective of the Commission’s Reforming the Energy Vision initiative, and the program changes approved today will result in deploying more private capital in the State’s DCFC network.

The DCFC infrastructure program is only a part of the State’s comprehensive strategy to incentivize and make EV ownership more convenient.

• The EVolve NY initiative, administered by the New York Power Authority (NYPA), has committed $250 million to expand public fast charging, in concert with private and public partners, along key transit corridors; create new charging hubs in major cities and airports; and establish electric vehicle-friendly model communities that will encourage residents to transition to driving electric vehicles.
• Under New York State Energy, Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) Drive Clean Rebate, which launched on March 21, 2017, more than 21,000 Rebates have been approved in every county in the State, providing more than $30 million in rebates as of January 2020.
• The Charge NY program, a collaboration of NYSERDA, NYPA and the Department of Environmental Conservation has led to the installation of more than 5,000 EV charging stations across the State.
• In January, the Department of Public Service issued a report recommending the establishment of a statewide utility-supported "Make-Ready" Program to promote responsible electric vehicle charging station deployment. In addition, the Governor announced that more than 20,000 rebates have been approved for New Yorkers to purchase electric cars under the Drive Clean Rebate initiative, which provides residents with a rebate of up to $2,000 for the purchase or lease of a new electric car from participating dealers.

Together, these programs aim to achieve New York State’s goal to increase the number of electric vehicles on the road to approximately 850,000 by 2025 and two million by 2030.

Today’s Commission decision acknowledges that the maximum budget for DCFC deployment should be reallocated to provide the highest likelihood of program success. To mitigate concerns that a single developer or operator could obtain a disproportionate amount of incentive funds, the Commission approved a cap that would limit charging operators or developers to no more than 50 percent of the eligible DCFC incentive program plugs in a given service territory. This single company cap provides a simple and effective solution that will, among other things, ensure against the risk of a disproportionate amount of program funding being devoted to any one proprietary plug type. Per the Commission order, the clarifications and modifications approved today “seek to provide developer certainty and encourage public DCFC station deployment and promote the public interest by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the vehicle transportation sector.

As a threshold matter, proprietary plugs such as Tesla’s Superchargers may only become eligible for the per-plug incentive where the charging station also makes available commonly accepted standardized plug types that can charge two vehicles simultaneously at 62.5 kilowatts or higher output. Once a proprietary plug is made available with a standardized plug, it may be eligible to receive a per-plug incentive if it is usable without a paid membership, and if the fees are payable through a commonly accepted payment method such as cash, credit, or debit.

Continuing the Commission’s track record in adopting rules that protect customer privacy, today’s action further clarifies and directs that station-specific and session-level data should not be disseminated publicly or used for any commercial purpose. Finally, the Commission also extended the 2019 maximum incentive level for two years through December 31, 2021 and adopted a “mixed-tier” subsidy that allows different levels of subsidization for individual plugs based on the differing charging speeds of plugs.

Today’s decision may be obtained by going to the Commission Documents section of the Commission’s Web site at www.dps.ny.gov and entering Case Number 18-E-0138 in the input box labeled "Search for Case/Matter Number". Many libraries offer free Internet access. Commission documents may also be obtained from the Commission’s Files Office, 14th floor, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12223 (518-474-2500). If you have difficulty understanding English, please call us at 1-800-342-3377 for free language assistance services regarding this press release.

New York State's Green New Deal

Governor Cuomo's Green New Deal is the most aggressive climate and clean energy initiative in the nation, putting the state on a path to being entirely carbon-neutral across all sectors of the economy and establishing a goal to achieve a zero-carbon emissions electricity sector by 2040, faster than any other state. It builds on New York's unprecedented ramp-up of clean energy including a $2.9 billion investment in 46 large-scale renewable projects across the state, the creation of more than 150,000 jobs in New York's clean energy sector, a commitment to develop nearly 1,700 megawatts of offshore wind by 2024, and 1,700 percent growth in the distributed solar sector since 2012.

The recently passed Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act mandates the Green New Deal's nation-leading clean energy targets: nine gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035, six gigawatts of distributed solar by 2025, and three gigawatts of energy storage by 2030, while calling for an orderly and just transition to clean energy that creates jobs and continues fostering a green economy. The CLCPA also directs New York State agencies and authorities to collaborate with stakeholders to develop a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent from 1990 levels by 2050 and aim to invest 40 percent of clean energy and energy efficiency program resources to benefit disadvantaged communities, achieving 70 percent renewable energy by 2040.