California law opens doors to charging stations without requiring charging station network memberships

Why do electric car charging stations have to be part of a charging station network?  To charge an electric car why do we have to be a member of ChargePoint or Blink or whatever?  Gasoline car owners don’t have to maintain a membership to buy gasoline, they just drive to a station, pay some money, rechar..er..refill their tank, and away they go.  Why shouldn’t we have the same freedom in electric car recharging?

A bill in the California State Senate, SB454, aims to open the door to public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to operate similar to gas stations by permitting drivers to use multiple payment methods to charge their car battery.

SB454 would allow charging station customers to use payment methods such as credit card or phone, instead of having
to pay a subscription fee or join a club, association or organization to pay for service.

“Electric vehicle drivers need easy access to charging stations throughout the state and a convenient way to pay for those services, as they already are at corner gas stations for traditional fuels,” Senator Corbett said. “SB 454 offers EV drivers the needed confidence that they will be able to charge their vehicles at publicly accessible charging stations with consistent and reliable payment methods.  This important bill continues the process of integrating electric vehicles on our roads and highways while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, protecting California’s air and water quality and supporting low-carbon alternative fuel technologies—while strengthening our state’s economy by assisting this emerging industry.”

Source:

http://sd10.senate.ca.gov/news/2013-04-09-bill-expanding-access-electric-vehicle-charging-stations-clears-committee

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=sb_454&sess=CUR

 

About David Herron

David Herron is a writer and software engineer living in Silicon Valley. He primarily writes about electric vehicles, clean energy systems, climate change, peak oil and related issues. When not writing he indulges in software projects and is sometimes employed as a software engineer. David has written for sites like PlugInCars and TorqueNews, and worked for companies like Sun Microsystems and Yahoo.

About David Herron

David Herron is a writer and software engineer living in Silicon Valley. He primarily writes about electric vehicles, clean energy systems, climate change, peak oil and related issues. When not writing he indulges in software projects and is sometimes employed as a software engineer. David has written for sites like PlugInCars and TorqueNews, and worked for companies like Sun Microsystems and Yahoo.

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