$100 Million EV Infrastructure Investment Moves Forward

Rep. Hahn: “A step in building our 21st century transportation system”

Washington, D.C. – Early this afternoon, the California Public Unities Commission submitted an agreement with NRG Energy, Inc. to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for approval on a $120 million plan which includes an investment of $100 million in California’s electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure.

“I’m very pleased this new investment in EV infrastructure is moving forward,” said Congresswoman Janice Hahn, one of only two Members of Congress to own an electric car. “EVs have the ability to free us from our addiction to dirty fossil fuels that are largely supplied by foreign countries. Unfortunately right now, we lack the infrastructure to make operating an EV as convenient as it needs to be.”

On April 25th, Congresswoman Hahn sent a letter to Governor Jerry Brown asking him to recognize the unique benefit electric vehicles would have in Los Angeles and take that into consideration when deciding future for infrastructure funding under this agreement.

NRG’s $100 million investment includes funding for 10,000 charging station “make-readies” and the creation of the nation’s largest network of DC “fast chargers,” which provide a 50-mile charge in 15 minutes. The agreement details the construction of 110 “eVgo” charging stations throughout the Los Angeles Basin – more than half of all the charging stations to be built in California.

“It is imperative we invest in the clean energy and clean transportation technologies of the 21st century,” explained Rep. Hahn. “This is one significant step in that process, one that will continue California’s leadership in the new clean energy economy.”

March 2012 was the best month in history for sales of EV’s in the United States and just last month the Union of Concerned Scientists released a report detailing the cost savings for EV owners. The same report noted that Los Angeles is one of the best areas in

Congresswoman Janice Hahn led the effort on the Los Angeles City Council to institute the Port of Los Angeles’s “clean truck” program and is the proud owner of a Nissan Leaf, an all electric car.

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