EV Chargers Now Outnumber Gas Pumps In California, Is This A Turning Point?

California has declared that it now has the country's most extensive EV charging network at 178,549 publicly accessible ports as of 2024. That's twice the number since 2022, which now bypasses the roughly 120,000 gasoline pumps statewide. Moreover, the divide widens even further when taking single-family home chargers into account; the state reckons that would add more than 700,000 to the running tally.

While the achievement is impressive, it must be noted that most of the chargers are merely Level 2 units. At maximum efficiency, L2 charging provides an average of 40 miles of range per hour via 240 volt AC. Of the 178.549 charters, only 16,971 are Level 3 DC fast chargers capable of 60-80 miles range in 20 minutes. The CEC-estimated 700k home chargers are also Level 2 units.

What this means is that the majority of chargers still pale in ...