If you live in or develop apartments in California, there’s fresh cash on the table to get Level 2 EV chargers installed. The Communities in Charge project, backed by the California Energy Commission’s Clean Transportation Program, just opened a new funding lane worth up to $56.5 million for multi-family housing and nearby spots where tenants can plug in.
How it works
- Who can apply? California property owners or stakeholders ready to install Level 2 chargers at multi-family and adjacent tenant-accessible sites.
- When? Applications opened today at 9 am PT and run through January 9, 2026, at 5 pm PT.
- What’s covered? Up to $8,500 per Level 2 port. Starting in October, the program will also kick in $2,000 per publicly accessible Level 1 port. Extra “plus-ups” are available for Tribal communities.
- Equity first: An equity-based scoring system bumps projects that serve disadvantaged, low-income, and Tribal areas to the front of the line.
The project is run by CALSTART (with GRID Alternatives and Tetra Tech riding shotgun). CALSTART already oversees more than $1 billion in national clean-transportation incentives.
“This funding wave marks a critical step in making electric vehicle charging accessible to more Californians, no matter the type of housing,” said Stacey Simms, CALSTART’s senior director of clean fuels and infrastructure. “By dedicating funding to this housing sector, we’re ensuring that infrastructure barriers are broken down so that multi-family housing residents can go electric at home.”
What happens after you click ‘submit’
Applications roll in through the Incentive Processing Center and get reviewed as they arrive:
- Readiness Tier 1 (projects that can basically start tomorrow) snag an immediate “Notice of Final Award.”
- Readiness Tier 2 candidates get a “Notice of Conditional Award” and 90 days to hand in extra paperwork before they secure their final green light.
Read more: California now has nearly 50% more EV chargers than gas nozzles
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