The City of Fullerton recognizes the global and local benefits of electric vehicles (EVs) and is committed to supporting the transition to clean transportation. As EVs become increasingly popular, Fullerton is proud to offer its residents and visitors a growing infrastructure of charging stations and other resources to facilitate the adoption of these sustainable vehicles. Read more about federal, state, and local EV incentives below.
Charging away from home is becoming easier every day! Fullerton partners with ChargePoint for various chargers throughout downtown and the civic center area.
EV Charging at Fullerton City Hall: Five Level 2 stalls are available at the Fullerton City Hall. Users will need to set up a ChargePoint account(link is external) to use the chargers. Rates are subject to change and are currently $0.30/kWh For Level 2 charging.
EV Charging at SOCO Parking Structure: There are five Level 2 EV chargers at the SOCO Parking structure. To use the EV chargers, simply scan the QR code on the chargers and make a payment through the portal or utilize the ChargePoint app.
Rebates and Incentives
Federal
Federal EV Tax Credit(link is external): Through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, you can receive a tax credit of up to $7,500 when you purchase a qualifying electric vehicle for which final assembly occurred in North America. Additional guidance from the IRS(link is external).
State
Clean Vehicle Rebate Project(link is external): Offers rebates from $1,000 to $7,000 for the purchase of a new EV or plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV). Low-income residents may be eligible for higher incentive rebates.
Clean Vehicle Assistance Program(link is external): Provides grants and affordable financing to help income-qualified households purchase a new or used EV. You can receive up to $5,000 for the purchase of an EV or a PHEV and up to $2,000 for home charging infrastructure.
Clean Fuel Reward(link is external): Receive up to $750 for the purchase or lease of an eligible new EV or PHEV at participating automotive retailers.
Consumer Assistance Program(link is external): Retire a gas vehicle at a BAR-contracted dismantler and receive $1,000. Income-eligible residents can receive $1,500.
HOV Lane Access(link is external): Receive a Clean Air Vehicle (CAV) decal for an EV, which allows single occupancy use of High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV, also known as carpool) lanes.
Local
SCE EV Rebate Program(link is external): Southern California Edison (SCE) offers rebates from $1,000 to $4,000 for the purchase of a used EV. Lower-income residents are eligible for higher incentive rebates.
EV Home Charging Electric Rates: Both SCE and Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) offer rates that can help you save money on your electric bill when you charge your EV at home. SCE TOU-D-PRIME(link is external) and OCPA TOU-EV-1(link is external) offer low off-peak Time of Use (TOU) rate plans designed specifically for homes utilizing EV charging.
Charge Ready Program(link is external): SCE provides business and property owners financial incentives, infrastructure, and technical support to facilitate the installation and maintenance of EV charging stations at their multi-family buildings, public sector, or business locations.
South Coast AQMD EV Charging Incentive(link is external): The South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) provides rebates for the cost of residential EV chargers. The program provides up to a $250 rebate or the cost of the charger, whichever is lower. Low-income residents can qualify for a rebate of $500 or the cost of the charger, whichever is lower.
South Coast AQMD Replace Your Ride(link is external): Receive up to $9,500 when you replace your older, high-polluting vehicle with a newer, cleaner vehicle.
Visit Drive Clean California(link is external) to customize your EV incentive search to your needs!
Resources
Find Your Electric Vehicle
This webpage from SCE(link is external) can help guide you through some of the factors to consider when you decide to switch to an EV, like your daily commute, the number of cars in your household, access to home charging, and what types of incentives are available to you.
Additionally, you can search and compare types of EVs on the SCE website(link is external) and the U.S. Department of Energy website(link is external). You can also search and compare types of home chargers(link is external).
Home Charger Installation
If you are looking to install an EV charger at your residence, please reference the following resources for a safe and compliant installation:
- Our Building & Safety division of the Community & Economic Development Department provides guidelines for the installation of home EV charging.
- You can find additional recommendations on how to charge at home on SCE’s webpage(link is external).
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Categories: Local Government, Local News
Level 2 chargers are virtually worthless if you are in a hurry–20 plus miles added per hour. A level 3 (supercharger) adds 20 miles per minute. As an EV owner, take it from me. Don’t buy all-electric. If you must go electric then go hybrid–the best of both worlds. A level 2 charger at CSUF adds about 20 miles per hour at 41 cents per kWh (about 14 cents per mile). Of course, at CSUF chargers are rarely available because there are dozens of Teslas parked for hours in these spots.
Electric vehicles are great and help keep our local air clean. Level 2 chargers are plenty for most peoples commutes and local lifestyles. The need for level 3 high power chargers is needed for long distance charging or if you are driving 100’s of miles a day like for rideshare or similar. If you think about it, cars mostly sit around parked when a person is at work or when they sleep.
Until we have American industries that pump out EV parts and batteries while being affordable to the masses and skilled workers that assemble them in the USA, EVs will continue to be a backseat idea.
“A backseat idea.”
You can’t go down an street in Fullertonwithout spotting one or more Teslas.
More and better public chargers certainly would help. But for homeowners that don’t do big miles on a regular basis, the technology is already there since you can just charge at home.
I don’t know that where they’re assembled has much to do with uptake but certainly the Inflation Reduction Act creates big incentives for onshoring production, particularly of batteries. Among other EV specific changes.
Tesla’s are in the hands of the upper class with a lot of money to spare. Lower class and poorer-level middle class people still cannot afford their vehicle maintenance and battery replacements. We still have a long way to go before EVs become an affordable majority vehicle. California’s State Capitol needs to get rid of business taxes and regulations that get in the way of automotive companies that can manufacture the EVs in California. We also need to train a new generation of domestic skilled engineers and mechanics in colleges and universities for EVs to service the customers too.
For the record, I am NOT a Democrat.
“Tesla’s are in the hands of the upper class with a lot of money to spare.”
They’re accessible to the middle class with all the tax incentives. I don’t live in a rich neighborhood, I see plenty of them.
Tesla manufactured here. Musk expanded in Texas rather than here for ideological reasons.
“We also need to train a new generation of domestic skilled engineers and mechanics in colleges and universities for EVs to service the customers too.”
For better or worse we will need far less mechanics than we have now. Most of what is done to a car is maintenance and EVs are low maintenance compared to an ICE.
EVs absolutely aren’t owned by the majority. For now hybrids make more sense for a lot of people. But this is only going one direction, up. It’s simply all about charging. Tesla solved the charging problem for their customers. Solving the charging problem for non Teslas will be the game changer. Part of that is some manufacturers are joining the Tesla network.
“For the record, I am NOT a Democrat.”
OK.
-“They’re accessible to the middle class with all the tax incentives.”
All of the tax incentives offered for a new single EV purchase will be quickly eaten up by current status quo expenses in California such as the state income tax, mortgage rates, utility costs, increasing costs of food and goods, etc. Installing a charging apparatus in a home or multiplex (apartment, condo, etc) in California is not cheap either, and may also require lots more money to replace old electrical systems entirely in the residence or building complex. If California wasn’t as expensive as it is now, EV expenses would be non-issue and more people and businesses would have been adopting EVs today. Our state also needs to build more nuclear power plants, using nuclear fusion, to accommodate increasing EV usage on the power grid.
-“Tesla manufactured here. Musk expanded in Texas rather than here for ideological reasons.”
Yes, Tesla Inc has several plants here in California, in Lathrop and Fremont. The move of company HQ from California to Texas wasn’t purely because of the coronavirus or ideology at the time either, but due to the increasing costs of doing business in California. The fact won’t change that manufacturing in California is costly due to regulations and business taxes that are still in effect. Consumers will have to still pay up more for Tesla vehicles in California than anyone else in the USA. If California would ease up the taxes and regulations, more people would be buying Teslas and other EV brands today.
-“For better or worse we will need far less mechanics than we have now. Most of what is done to a car is maintenance and EVs are low maintenance compared to an ICE.”
The reason why you say that is due to EVs being very proprietary in design, where the company only allows its cars to be repaired by its company mechanics. The demand for independent licensed mechanics is already here, outside of dealerships, for consumers who want to have their vehicles repaired at lower costs.
Of course, no matter where in the USA you live, the remaining problem with EVs is the costs of battery replacement in car accidents, even with insurance. Yes, most EVs like Tesla cars have Autopilot to assist driver but other drivers on the road who don’t drive such cars can still wreck EV drivers. Our world still hasn’t achieved full autonomous driving yet, so the driving life remains an X-Factor for now. Once EV companies find ways to produce EV batteries at a lower cost, this will be less of a problem for consumers to replace wrecked EV batteries. More EV charging stations also need to be available in the middle of nowhere on major highways and freeways, like gas stations already are, to encourage long distance driving for regular drivers.
ICE vehicles require radically more maintenance because an ICE engine and associated parts is simply a more complicated machine with a lot more parts that wear and fail. EVs have some too… Like tires and ultimately the battery. But not like an ICE vehicle.
I think we should have independent mechanics for EVs. I just don’t think there will end up being near as many and it will be a massive problem to get people retrained to other jobs. Look around Fullerton and see all the brake, muffler, smog, etc shops. They just aren’t the same on an ev.
As to costly taxes and regulations, nah I don’t buy it. People say that but they never have specifics. California is the largest sub national economy in the world. We don’t need to be in a race to the bottom on policy with Texas or anyone else that comes here trawling for the jobs Californians innovate and create.
At least we came to an agreement on needing more independent mechanics for EVs.
I still think you are living in a bubble if you do not see that California’s expenses and crime are a massive problem, with the evidential exodus of Californians and business leaving to other states. We still have some empty business lots in Fullerton that have have not been occupied for nearly 20s years. Of course, I will not go any further as that is a topic is for another appropriate time. I have said what I needed to say about EVs.