Bill Text: CA AB2697 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Transportation electrification: electric vehicle charging stations: network roaming standards.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-27 - Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. [AB2697 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB2697-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Senate  June 27, 2024

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 09, 2024

Amended  IN  Assembly  March 19, 2024

Amended  IN  Assembly  March 11, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2697

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Introduced by Assembly Members Irwin and Ting
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Juan Carrillo)

February 14, 2024

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An act to add and repeal Section 44268.5 amend Section 44268.2 of the Health and Safety Code, and to amend Section 25231.5 of the Public Resources Code, relating to transportation electrification.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2697, as amended, Irwin. Transportation electrification: electric vehicle charging infrastructure. stations: network roaming standards.

(1)Existing

Existing law prohibits persons desiring to use an electric vehicle charging station that requires payment of a fee from being required to pay a subscription fee to use the station and from being required to obtain membership in any club, association, or organization as a condition of using the station. Existing law requires the total actual charges for the use of an electric vehicle charging station, including any additional network roaming charges for nonmembers, to be disclosed to the public at the point of sale. Existing law authorizes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to adopt interoperability billing standards for network roaming payment methods for electric vehicle charging stations if no interoperability billing standards have been adopted by a national standards organization by January 1, 2015.

This bill would require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to develop network roaming requirements for electric vehicle chargers and charging station networks by January 1, 2026, that would apply to the charging network of charging network providers that received an incentive from a state agency or through a charge on ratepayers, as specified. The bill would repeal this requirement on January 1, 2035.

(2)Existing law requires the Energy Commission, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission, to develop uptime recordkeeping and reporting standards for electric vehicle chargers and charging stations. Existing law requires that the uptime recordkeeping and reporting standards only apply to electric vehicle chargers and charging stations that received an incentive from a state agency or through a charge on ratepayers, apply for a minimum of 6 years, and apply to electric vehicle chargers and charging stations installed on or after January 1, 2024.

This bill would require the above uptime recordkeeping and reporting standards to also apply to electric vehicle chargers and charging stations that were installed with money from specified consent decrees among the State Air Resources Board, Volkswagen AG, and the United States Department of Justice, as specified. The bill would additionally require the Energy Commission, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission, to develop, by January 1, 2026, uptime recordkeeping and reporting standards that apply to electric vehicle chargers and charging stations installed after January 1, 2018, but before January 1, 2024, that either received an incentive from a state agency or through a charge on ratepayers or were installed with money from specified consent decrees among the State Air Resources Board, Volkswagen AG, and the United States Department of Justice, as specified. The bill would require the Energy Commission to consider specified factors when developing these uptime recordkeeping and reporting standards.

This bill would require the commission to apply any network roaming standards it adopts only to major electric vehicle charging network operators, as defined.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Section 44268.2 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

44268.2.

 (a) (1) Persons desiring to use an electric vehicle charging station that requires payment of a fee shall not be required to pay a subscription fee in order to use the station, and shall not be required to obtain membership in any club, association, or organization as a condition of using the station. The total actual charges for the use of an electric vehicle charging station, including any additional network roaming charges for nonmembers, shall be disclosed to the public at the point of sale.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an electric vehicle charging station may offer services on a subscription- or membership-only basis provided those electric vehicle charging stations allow nonsubscribers or nonmembers the ability to use the electric vehicle charging station through the payment options detailed in paragraph (3).

(3) (A) An electric vehicle charging station that requires payment of a fee and that is first installed or first made publicly available on or after the effective date of this paragraph, July 10, 2023, at a minimum, shall provide both of the following:

(i) A contactless payment method that accepts major credit and debit cards. For purposes of this clause, “contactless payment method” means a secure method for consumers to purchase services using a debit card, credit card, smartcard, or another payment device, by using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and near-field communication (NFC).

(ii) Either an automated toll-free telephone number or a short message system (SMS) that provides the electric vehicle charging customer with the option to initiate a charging session and submit payment.

(B) A direct current fast charging station that is first installed or first made publicly available on or after the effective date of this paragraph July 10, 2023, shall also include Plug and Charge payment capabilities meeting the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 15118 standard no later than one year after this effective date of this paragraph. July 10, 2024.

(C) The commission, by regulation that is effective no earlier than January 1, 2028, may add to or subtract from payment methods required by this paragraph, as appropriate in light of changing technologies.

(b) The service provider of electric vehicle service equipment at an electric vehicle charging station or its designee shall disclose to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory the electric vehicle charging station’s geographic location, a schedule of fees, accepted methods of payment, and the amount of network roaming charges for nonmembers, if any.

(c) Electric vehicle charging stations shall be labeled in accordance with Part 309 of Title 16 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and, where commercially reasonable and feasible, may be clearly marked with appropriate directional signage in the parking area or facility where they are located.

(d) (1) If no interoperability billing standards have been adopted by a national standards organization by January 1, 2015, the commission may adopt interoperability billing standards for network roaming payment methods for electric vehicle charging stations. If the commission adopts interoperability billing standards, all electric vehicle charging stations that require payment shall meet those standards within one year. Any standards adopted by the commission shall consider other governmental or industry-developed interoperability billing standards and may adopt interoperability billing standards promulgated by an outside authoritative body.

(2) (A) The commission shall apply any network roaming standards adopted pursuant to this section only to major electric vehicle charging network operators.

(B) For purposes of this section, “major electric vehicle charging network operator” means a charging network operator that does both of the following:

(i) Maintains a customer-facing internet-based application for purposes of locating and using electric vehicle charging stations in the operator’s network.

(ii) Operates at least 100 publicly available electric vehicle charging stations in the operator’s network in the state.

(C) Notwithstanding clause (ii) of subparagraph (B), the commission may increase the number of publicly available electric vehicle charging stations an operator must operate in its network before triggering network roaming standards as part of any standards adopted pursuant to this section.

SECTION 1.Section 44268.5 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

44268.5.

(a)For purposes of this section, “charging network provider” includes, but is not limited to, an electrical corporation, a local publicly owned electric utility, or a private electric vehicle charging infrastructure developer.

(b)The commission shall develop network roaming requirements for electric vehicle chargers and charging station networks by January 1, 2026.

(c)The network roaming requirements shall do all of the following:

(1)Ensure drivers have access to a secure and standard set of data to help locate and use a publicly available electric vehicle charging station, regardless of the network they use.

(2)Require network roaming agreements between charging network providers to create a more seamless and positive experience for consumers.

(3)Only apply to the charging network of charging network providers that received an incentive from a state agency or through a charge on ratepayers.

(d)When developing network roaming requirements for electric vehicle chargers and charging station networks, the commission shall do both of the following:

(1)Consider federal definitions and rulings to ensure consistency between standards.

(2)Prioritize addressing consumer needs to reduce barriers to electric vehicle adoption.

(e)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2035, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 2.Section 25231.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

25231.5.

(a)(1)(A)The commission, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission, shall develop uptime recordkeeping and reporting standards for electric vehicle chargers and charging stations by January 1, 2024.

(B)The uptime recordkeeping and reporting standards developed pursuant to this paragraph shall apply to electric vehicle chargers and charging stations that meet either of the following criteria:

(i)Received an incentive from a state agency or through a charge on ratepayers.

(ii)Were installed with moneys from the consent decrees among the State Air Resources Board, Volkswagen AG et al., and the United States Department of Justice in the United States of America v. Volkswagen AG et al., Case No. 16-cv-295 (N.D. Cal.).

(C)The uptime recordkeeping and reporting standards developed pursuant to this paragraph shall apply for a minimum of six years unless the commission decides a longer time span is more appropriate.

(D)The uptime recordkeeping and reporting standards developed pursuant to this paragraph shall apply to electric vehicle chargers and charging stations installed on or after January 1, 2024.

(2)(A)The commission, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission, shall develop additional uptime recordkeeping and reporting standards for electric vehicle chargers and charging stations by January 1, 2026.

(B)The uptime recordkeeping and reporting standards developed pursuant to this paragraph shall apply to electric vehicle chargers and charging stations installed after January 1, 2018, but before January 1, 2024, that meet either of the following criteria:

(i)Received an incentive from a state agency or through a charge on ratepayers.

(ii)Were installed with moneys from the consent decrees among the State Air Resources Board, Volkswagen AG et al., and the United States Department of Justice in the United States of America v. Volkswagen AG et al., Case No. 16-cv-295 (N.D. Cal.).

(C)In developing the uptime recordkeeping and reporting standards pursuant to this paragraph, the commission shall consider all of the following factors:

(i)The technological capability of the charging station.

(ii)The potential for the standards to result in charging station closure.

(iii)The likelihood of near-term charging station replacement.

(iv)Other factors the commission considers appropriate.

(D)The uptime recordkeeping and reporting standards developed pursuant to this paragraph shall apply for a minimum of six years unless the commission decides a longer time span is more appropriate.

(3)(A)The commission shall define “uptime” through a public workshop process and apply it to each electric vehicle charger and charging station and create a formula to calculate uptime to provide consistent, standardized reporting of information at least annually.

(B)When defining “uptime,” the commission shall do both of the following:

(i)Include the operability of both software and hardware.

(ii)Consider federal definitions to ensure consistency between standards.

(C)The commission shall determine what events that make a charging station inoperable constitute excluded time for purposes of developing the formula. In making this determination, the commission and Public Utilities Commission shall only consider events that are outside a charging station operator’s control. This may include issues related to the electrical grid, WiFi connectivity, cellular connectivity, and vandalism, as defined by the commission through a public workshop process.

(b)(1)The commission may consider additional reliability metrics, including, but not limited to, success rate to initiate a charging session, customer satisfaction, and the number, nature, or length of events that interrupt service.

(2)The commission, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission, shall hold a public workshop to discuss and identify industry best practices and charger technology capabilities that are demonstrated to increase reliability. As a result of this workshop, the commission may incorporate these best practices and capabilities into its uptime recordkeeping and reporting standards.

(3)Uptime recordkeeping and reporting standards may vary by technology type, power levels, number of chargers per site, and site ownership. Factors may include whether chargers are networked, whether chargers are Level 1, Level 2, or direct current fast chargers, and whether chargers are all-inclusive mobile solar charging stations.

(4)Uptime recordkeeping and reporting standards shall not apply to charging stations installed at residential real property containing four or fewer dwelling units.

(5)The funding entity shall clearly disclose these reporting requirements to the funding recipient. If the funding recipient is an electric vehicle service provider or other third-party entity that is not the site host, the electric vehicle service provider or third-party entity shall provide a separate disclosure to the site host about the site host’s right to designate the service provider or third-party as the entity to report the data on behalf of the site host. The funding recipient shall verify receipt by signing the disclosure, to be confirmed by the funding entity.

(c)(1)Beginning January 1, 2025, the commission shall assess the uptime of charging station infrastructure, including, at a minimum, an assessment of equitable access to reliable charging stations in low-, moderate-, and high-income communities.

(2)The commission shall update the assessment performed pursuant to this subdivision every two years.

(3)An individual or company supplying information or data to the commission pursuant to this section may request that the information or data be held in confidence by the commission pursuant to Section 25322.

(d)(1)The commission, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission, shall adopt tools to increase charging station uptime, including, but not limited to, uptime requirements and operation and maintenance requirements, and may include incentives, including operation and maintenance incentives.

(2)By January 1, 2025, the commission shall set standards for how stations subject to this section shall notify customers about the availability and accessibility of publicly available charging infrastructure.

(e)This section does not prohibit or limit the commission’s or other state agencies’ ability under any other law, including, but not limited to, the authority to include reporting or reliability requirements as a condition of grants or other agreements or to adopt other charging station reporting standards.

(f)This section does not grant the commission an exemption from the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).

(g)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2035, and as of that date is repealed.