West Coast Cities Ready for Upcoming EV Invasion-

In late 2010, Nissan and GM will be releasing their plug-in electric vehicle (EV) models and certain cities along the west coast are preparing for the rush. Presently, San Francisco is working on revised building codes that would require all new structures to be equipped with basic connections to charge electric vehicles. Additionally, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. in nearby Silicon Valley are working to release “heat maps” to mark potential city sections which they fear may be packed with EV charge stations, overloading the neighboring electricity grid. “There is a huge momentum here,” said Andrew Tang, an executive at P.G.& E. “If you just allow willy-nilly random charging, are we going to have neighborhood blackouts?” Mr. Tang questioned. He asserts that a single car could expend around three times as much electricity as a standard San Francisco home. Later this year, P.G.&E. will pilot a “smart charging” program, in which 200 cars will be linked to particular charging stations that allow utilities to control the electricity demand during times of power shortage. The clean transportation adviser of San Francisco, Robert Hayden, says that the city anticipates installing 60 charging stations throughout public garages by the end of the year – with a thousand more implemented in 2011. Other cities along the west coast, such as San Diego, California and Portland, Oregon, are working quickly to facilitate similar measures before the impending roll out.