Palo Alto Requires New Homes to Be Electric-Car Ready

Changes to the city’s building code will require wiring for a standard electric car charging station.

Once the ordinance is finalized, new homes will be required to include wiring for 240V Level 2 charging stations, amounting to an added cost of approximately $200. However, the investment is small compared to retrofitting the wiring in existing homes, which ranges from $500 to $1,000.

The mandate is part of a broader package of proposals that also includes streamlining the permitting process for installing a charger at a residential or commercial building. “As community members and businesses begin to transition from fossil fuel vehicles to electric vehicles, it is important that our ordinances and policies not only support this transition, but encourage it,” wrote the mayor and other city leaders in a memo urging the council to approve the ordinance.

The change comes shortly after Palo Alto approved a citywide “carbon-neutral” energy portfolio in March, ensuring every resident’s electricity is supplied by renewable energy sources or offset by the purchase of renewable energy credits.