February 21, 2018: Sierra Club and NRDC submitted a formal petition to the New York Public Service Commission calling for a Commission order to open a proceeding focusing on advancing New York's electric vehicle (EV) market. We convened 40 environmental, environmental justice, labor, transportation industry, and local stakeholders in New York as signatories to the petition, representing a broad range of backgrounds with the common goal of electrifying New York's transportation sector and reaping the tremendous economic and environmental benefits that come with that transformation.
With approximately 24,000 EVs and 2,000 charging stations, New York is currently far from meeting its 2025 zero emission vehicle goals (around 850,000 EVs on the road) and 2021 ChargeNY goals (10,000 charging stations). The Commission is planning to open a new docket to evaluate utility EV-only rate proposals due on April 1st, as required by legislation passed last year. The petition asks that the docket be expanded to encompass all current and future state and utility EV initiatives, ensuring a coordinated, proactive approach to New York’s EV development.
In addition to the EV-only rate proposals, the petition also calls for utility EV charging infrastructure proposals (focusing on multi-unit dwellings, low-income communities, DC fast chargers, and medium and heavy-duty EVs, including buses) and for utility proposals on customer EV education/outreach by the same April 1st deadline. The petition encourages the Commission to act on the requests as soon as possible to ensure New York achieves its transportation and climate goals.
Sierra Club's office press release can be found here.