LA ranked among top cities for EV charging stations in the nation

Los Angeles was recently ranked one of the top cities in the nation for electric vehicle drivers to recharge their cars. According to a new study by iSeeCars, LA ranked number three in the United States because there is an average of one charger for every 724 people. 

"If you had to tell each person you have to share this EV charger with 724 other people though, most would say we need more," said Karl Brauer, an analyst. 

In a quest to make finding a charger easier for electric vehicle drivers, the city of Los Angeles is taking a new approach: installing EV chargers on light poles on city streets, because the electric infrastructure is already there. 

"At most we'll have to change fuses or do structural retrofits so that we can attach it," said Miguel Sangalang, director of Los Angeles' Bureau of Street Lighting. "But nothing like changing out the actual entire line or improving the electrical system itself." 

Los Angeles has installed 725 light-pole chargers so far, and Sangalang says the street light system can support 3,000 or 4,000 more. 

To keep up with growing EV sales, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates that in addition to all the private chargers at homes and offices, the United States will need 1.2 million publicly accessible chargers by 2030. 

Last year, Americans bought about 1.4 million electric vehicles — a new record, according to Argonne National Laboratory.