San Francisco Approves Plan to Add Hundreds of EV Chargers at City Facilities

San Francisco is one step closer to transitioning to a green fleet on Tuesday, after the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a plan to install roughly 400 electric vehicle chargers at city-owned facilities.

The initiative, which draws on a $5 million California Energy Commission grant and $3 million in city funds, is part of a larger push to expand electric vehicle infrastructure and expedite progress toward the city’s goal of becoming 100% zero-emission by 2040.

Mayor Daniel Lurie’s office and City Administrator Carmen Chu estimate the new chargers will power around 800 vehicles, about 40% of what is needed to transition the city’s cars, vans and trucks to electric.

The lack of chargers has been a major barrier to the transition, Chu said.

“Now, with this grant, we’ll be able to have the infrastructure in place,” Chu said.

With more chargers in place, the city will be able to move ahead with new EV purchases.

William Riggs, a USF professor and director of the Autonomous Vehicles and the City Initiative, said the grant is a good step toward meeting the city’s zero-emission benchmark but added that other considerations remain.

“You can’t just invest in EV infrastructure for private automobiles,” he said. “You have to invest in EV and infrastructure for transit vehicles, and invest in walking and cycling infrastructure alongside that.”

Ted Lamm, an associate director at UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy, & the Environment, echoed the sentiment, noting that the next step should be to ensure that public transportation services like BART are also powered by clean electricity.

“As more and more vehicles become electrified and are plugging into the electric grid — that has the real long-term potential to lower electricity costs for everyone,” he said.

Lamm also raised concerns about the city’s broader plan to install over 1,500 public chargers citywide for residents, pointing out that underserved communities often rely on street parking.

“At the end of the day, the best place for electric vehicle charging is in private garages,” Lamm said. “It needs to be done in areas where we know there’s sufficient need, or there will be sufficient need, for that curbside charging.”

Riggs reiterated Lamm’s concerns. “Execution is everything, but we have to guard against this idea of EVs being the one and only answer,” he said.

City officials said they expect the new chargers to be fully installed by 2027.