The California Energy Commission is working to improve the electric vehicle (EV) driver experience for all Californians. Increasing the adoption of EVs requires a charging network that is reliable, accessible, and convenient. An improved driver experience with charging can increase EV adoption while creating an attractive marketplace for vehicle manufacturers and charging station operators.

The CEC is working to improve the reliability of EV charging stations through:

  • Charger uptime and reliability reporting requirements in CEC EV charging infrastructure grants.
  • Forthcoming first-in-the-world state EV charging reliability regulations that will track the reliability of state and ratepayer funded EV charging stations and set minimum reliability standards.
  • A real world field testing program cataloging the reliability of EV chargers conducted by UC Davis.

Forthcoming regulations will require publicly accessible EV charging stations to share charger location, payment, and accessibility information, helping mapping apps and other third parties direct drivers to chargers that are available and functional.

Starting an EV charging session requires communication between the vehicle and charger, and often also a charging network. The CEC is working with the EV charging industry to improve charging stations communication with the goal of creating a seamless charging network.

The CEC includes minimum technical requirements for its funding projects to ensure installation of user friendly and reliable charging stations.

Additional details are described in the CEC’s November 2023 Statement on Charging Interoperability.

Publicly available EV chargers that require a fee to use and were installed on or after July 10, 2023 must meet certain payment method requirements pursuant to SB 123 (2023). The CEC has opened a Rulemaking to draft EV payment regulations.

California now requires newly installed DC fast chargers to include Plug and Charge capability using ISO 15118. Plug and Charge enables drivers to start and pay for charging session simply by plugging in and improves station reliability. The CEC is working to set new regulations requiring Plug and Charge capabilities at publicly accessible chargers.

Network roaming enables a driver to pay for charging at any charge station within the network) without the need for a separate account or app. Greater network roaming can significantly simplify access to chargers and the charging experience for drivers. The CEC is exploring methods to improve network roaming through industry communication and future regulation.

CEC efforts are supporting a one plug future for EV drivers while ensuring the EV charging network also meets the needs of existing EV drivers.

Additional details are described in the CEC's October 2024 Updated Statement on the SAE J3400 North American Charging System.

To help industry meet these requirements, the CEC has provided various resources including launching a charging communication test laboratory (DEKRA Vehicle-Grid Innovation Lab, or ViGIL), funding North America’s largest Vehicle Interoperability Testing Symposium (VOLTS), and providing analysis and recommendations (for example, the November 2023 Statement on Charging Interoperability and the February 2024 Updated Recommendation on ISO 15118 Ready Chargers).

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