Southern California Edison (SCE) will build hundreds of new charging stations for electric cars throughout it's 50,000-square-mile service area.
The SCE's goal is to make 30,000 stations in this service area at a cost of $355 million.
The effort to expand the network of charging stations got a major boost on last week when the California Public Utilities Commission approved $22 million to build an additional 1,500 stations.
The chargers will be compatible with both electric-only vehicles and plug-in hybrid electrical vehicles.
Additionally, SCE will offer rebates that will cover between 25 and 100 percent of the base cost of the charging stations and their installation.
Electric vehicles in California are expected to eclipse the 1 million-mark by 2020, according to SCE's director of energy policy Gary Stern. By that time, the 30,000 stations would likely meet about 30 percent of demand.
Currently, California officials are aiming to have electric cars make up 150,000 — or 1.1 percent — of the 13 million registered vehicles in the state.
Caroline Choi, SCE's vice president for energy and environmental policy, says expanding the number of charging stations will increase the demand for zero-emission vehicles.
"A major barrier to electric vehicle ownership is that there aren't enough charging stations where people normally park their cars," she said. "We believe that by giving electric vehicle owners more options to charge their vehicles, this program can actually help to accelerate the market in Southern California."
Annenberg Media