Hundreds of public EV chargers are coming to San Diego libraries, rec centers

San Diego is launching construction of a long-awaited citywide network of electric vehicle charging stations in public parking lots at beaches, library branches and recreation centers.

The goal is a reliable network of chargers so San Diego residents can buy or lease an EV with confidence they can conveniently charge it — even if they don’t have a garage or another way to charge at home.

Another goal is to fight the socioeconomic and geographic trends showing most of the EVs in the city are registered to residents of wealthier neighborhoods like Carmel Valley, La Jolla, Rancho Bernardo and downtown.

The network will span every neighborhood in the city and target areas with high concentrations of apartments and condominiums, because residents there are the EV owners and potential owners most likely to need public charging.

“We needed to think about the transition to clean transportation through the lens of what the city can and can’t do,” said Anna Lowe, a city program manager focused on EVs. “We can’t help with the cost of buying an EV, but we can help with charging an EV. Access to EV chargers should never be the constraint.”

A ZIP code analysis by city officials found that downtown and some northern suburban neighborhoods have significantly more EV owners than San Ysidro and neighborhoods in southeastern San Diego.

“San Diego has a lot of EVs, but they’re not equitably distributed throughout the city,” Lowe said. “The city wants to be part of the solution to reduce that inequity.”

City officials are completing permitting and working out logistical details with San Diego Gas & Electric to install between 750 and 800 charging portals at 59 locations — 20 library branches and 39 pools or recreation centers.

Officials estimate ground could be broken on the first wave of chargers early next year. Work on them follows recently completed updates and repairs to 58 existing charging ports at 12 city locations.

The city had first announced plans for a network of chargers in spring 2023, but that process was delayed partly by complex negotiations with the company that will install them.

Progress on the charging network comes with future sales of EVs becoming more uncertain, thanks to the federal government’s elimination of long-standing tax credits at the end of last month.

Sales have been strong in California and San Diego with the tax credits in place. EV registrations within the city climbed from 67,674 in 2022 to 95,155 in 2023 and 119,251 in 2024. And statewide, EV sales soared last month, as buyers rushed to beat the end of the tax credits.

The more widespread adoption of EVs plays a key role in helping meet multiple city goals.

San Diego’s climate action plan commits the city to having 16% of all miles driven be by zero-emission vehicles by 2030 and to having a quarter be zero-emission by 2035.

The plan also calls for the city to transition to an all-electric fleet for light-duty vehicles by 2035, with 75% of its heavy-duty vehicles electric by that time. The city owns about 5,000 vehicles; only a small number are now EVs.

The chargers are being planned and installed by Everged, which agreed to a controversial 10-year deal with the city last year.

Some City Council members had raised concerns that the city could owe Everged as much as $60 million for charging infrastructure at the end of the deal.

While that is technically true, the city’s independent budget analyst said that amount is based on a highly unlikely worst-case scenario where demand for electric charging stations plummets to nearly zero.

Everged faces penalties if broken chargers aren’t promptly repaired. Broken chargers can be reported on the city’s Get It Done! tipster app.

The new chargers will be split roughly half and half between those compatible with Tesla cars and those with different plug shapes and other features. A number of car manufacturers are adopting Tesla-style chargers in upcoming models.

The system will be malleable, officials said. The charging cables and ports can be changed out if the mix of vehicles changes and there is greater demand for one type of port or another, officials said.

Heather Werner, a deputy director in the city’s General Services Department, said the charging fees at the city portals are “comparable” to other public charging stations not on city property.

She said the rate is 50 cents per kilowatt hour at the existing city chargers that recently got upgraded. Everged sets the rates, but the city has the right to object if it doesn’t find them reasonable.

At each project site where new chargers are planned, crews will post public notices and then conduct two to three weeks of preparation work that may include clearing debris and flattening areas for the chargers.

They will then spend two to three weeks installing the new chargers and another week or two testing them.

Once all the chargers have been installed at libraries and rec centers, Everged is scheduled to move on to police stations, fire stations and city office buildings.

A new city survey about EV chargers is available at sandiego.gov/general-services/energy/zev/evcharging.

City officials are planning a webinar for EV drivers some time this fall. Officials said it will focus on charger types, locations and related details.