Supported by a ten-year services contract with Ava, EV Realty will develop, build, own, and operate a 33-stall EV charging project at the Oakland City Center Garage, centrally located to serve the adjacent disadvantaged community.

This will be the largest public fast charging site in Oakland, increasing the overall amount of public fast charging infrastructure in the city by nearly 45%. EV Realty selected EV Connect, a leading EV charging management solutions provider owned by Schneider Electric, to construct and service the project under a multi-year agreement.

California state policy aims to promote equity in electrification by directing investments to support disadvantaged communities. However, challenges exist in the upfront cost of electric vehicles and access to at-home charging infrastructure, which are not always present in disadvantaged communities and areas with high density of multi-dwelling units (MDUs). This perpetuates the chicken-and-egg issue of needing charging infrastructure where it’s used most, but also requiring more vehicles to justify more charging availability.

Ava is a not-for-profit public power agency that operates a Community Choice Energy program in Alameda County and the city of Tracy, with additional service extending to Stockton and Lathrop beginning in 2025. Ava currently serves 14 cities with 1.7 million residential and commercial customers.

EV Realty was selected through a competitive process to partner with Ava to realize the Oakland charging hub. The novel contract structure enables Ava to set prices ensuring utilization and benefits to the community, while EV Realty provides high-quality infrastructure that enables drivers to charge their vehicles quickly and reliably. The long-term contract structure provides project revenue certainty that supports private investment in much-needed public EV charging solutions.

Construction on the Oakland charging hub is expected to begin early next year; the project is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2024.