In a report issued on June 17, 2020 through the West Coast Clean Transit Corridor Initiative, nine West Coast utilities and two agencies representing 24 municipal utilities[1] have recommended electric-charging stations for trucks every 50 miles along Interstate 5 (I-5) and connecting highways.[2] [3] According to the report, the first phase would build 27 sites along I-5 for medium-duty electric vehicles (EVs) by 2025. By 2030, 14 of those charging sites would be expanded to also accommodate heavy duty EVs. The report says that by 2030, 8% of all trucks on the road in California are expected to be electric. Sixteen of the sites will be in California, five in Oregon, and six in Washington. The report found that the plan could take years because rural areas do not have the generating capacity for charging medium-duty EVs and no rural area along I-5 can serve heavy-duty EVs so infrastructure to provide these services have to be built. However, most utilities in urban areas have the ability offer medium-duty EV charging.

The report recommends expanding state, federal, or private programs that provide funding for electrification. Several utilities in California like Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE) have programs that support the adoption of electric trucks, but more support will be needed for the report’s recommended infrastructure.

[1] Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP), Northern California Power Agency (NCPA), Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), Pacific Power, Portland General Electric (PGE), Puget Sound Energy (PSE), Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), Seattle City Light (SCL), Southern California Edison (SCE), and Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA)

[2] https://westcoastcleantransit.com/resources/WestCoastCleanTransitNewsRelease-Website.pdf

[3] https://www.westcoastcleantransit.com/#resources-section