Expanding Access to Affordable EV Charging: Vision and Pilot Program
Drive Clean Colorado is proud to partner with GRID Alternatives, the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA), and EVNoire as part of a national consortium of electric utilities working to develop scalable EV charging models. This collaborative effort aims to advance GRID’s long-term vision for a system similar to EBT or SNAP programs, ensuring affordable EV charging access for everyone.
Challenges of Charging Accessibility
Renters and multifamily housing residents often cannot charge at home. Low-income renters rely on public charging, which costs 2–6 times more than home charging and often does not include income-qualified discounts.
The Opportunity
Providing assistance programs for public charging can ease the financial burden of transportation while reducing emissions in the communities most affected by pollution. Electric utilities are well positioned to deliver these benefits through existing income-qualified rate assistance programs.
Contact Drive Clean Colorado Program Manager, Jenna Wyatt, to learn more.
Project Overview
Drive Clean Colorado is proud to support GRID Alternatives’ proposal, “Leveraging Low-Income Electricity Discounts to Unlock Equity at Public EV Charging,” for the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation’s Ride and Drive Electric, which was awarded a $1.5 million grant over 24 months.
The project focuses on creating affordable public EV charging models for income- qualified households.
We are working in partnership with utilities and communities across the US to ensure equitable and scalable models.
Three Phases of Work:
1
Develop
The project will build a portfolio of pilot projects to offer income-qualified EV owners discounted access to public charging. This work brings together a diverse range of utility companies — including investor-owned, public, and co-op utilities — along with other key stakeholders such as EV service providers, government agencies, and community-based organizations.
2
Deploy
These pilots will be launched in partnership with utility companies and communities that represent a diverse cross-section of the national market. This approach ensures an iterative process that values participant feedback. GRID Alternatives will focus on a cluster of pilots in California, Washington, and Colorado — with Drive Clean Colorado supporting pilots in our region — along with one or more pilots in emerging EV markets.
3
Disseminate
The results and lessons learned from these pilots will be shared as replicable models that can be scaled nationwide. By disseminating this information, utilities, communities, and policymakers across the country will be better equipped to expand affordable, equitable EV charging solutions.
Partners
GRID Alternatives is operating this program in partnership with Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA), Drive Clean Colorado, and EVNoire. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) under the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Award Number DE-EE0011243.
Key supporters of the project include General Motors and the Rivian Foundation.
