EV charger rebates in San Francisco

San Francisco's EV charger funding stack is shaped by two factors: it sits inside BAAQMD's Bay Area regional umbrella, and the city's building code requires EV-ready infrastructure on most new commercial development. We track the funding programs that apply to SF projects and the code requirements that drive the procurement timing.

The funding stack at a glance

• Federal — §30C tax credit (30% of cost, eligible-tract test applies — most of SF qualifies), CFI Community grant (between rounds)
• California state — CALeVIP 2.0 Communities in Charge (statewide L2), Carl Moyer (administered through BAAQMD), HCD AHSC for affordable housing
• Regional — BAAQMD Charge! Program (the Bay Area regional anchor)
• Utility — PG&E EV Charge 2 for multifamily and small business (PG&E is the wires utility for SF); CleanPowerSF EV Charge SF (the city's CCA program)
• City — SF Building Code EV requirements drive the regulatory timing; SF Department of Building Inspection processes EV permits under AB 1236 expedited rules; SF Environment Department runs sustainability programs

The PG&E + CleanPowerSF dynamic

San Francisco was an early adopter of Community Choice Aggregation. Most SF residential and commercial customers are served by CleanPowerSF (operated by SF Public Utilities Commission with Hetch Hetchy Power) as their energy supplier, while PG&E remains the wires utility. This matters for stacking:

• PG&E EV Charge 2 (turnkey multifamily/SMB infrastructure) operates on the wires utility side and applies to SF projects
• CleanPowerSF EV Charge SF runs its own rebate program for CleanPowerSF customers — separate funding source, stacks with PG&E EV Charge 2 because they're different program tiers

For a typical SF multifamily or workplace project, you can plan on having both available — PG&E for the make-ready and equipment, CleanPowerSF as a complementary rebate.

BAAQMD Charge! applies to SF

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District covers all of San Francisco. The Charge! program is the biggest single regional program for L2 charging at multifamily, workplace, and public-access sites. Funded by AB 2766 vehicle registration fees and Carl Moyer money — different funding source than ratepayer programs, so it stacks cleanly. See our Oakland regional page for more on BAAQMD's territory and funding model.

SF Building Code — the EV-ready requirement

San Francisco was one of the first major California cities to require EV-ready electrical infrastructure on new commercial construction. The code requires a percentage of parking spaces to be EV-Capable (raceway and panel capacity for future installation) or EV-Ready (full circuit installed) depending on building type and size. This means new commercial development in SF must budget for charger-ready infrastructure regardless of whether chargers are installed at occupancy.

The interaction with funding programs: code-driven infrastructure is generally NOT eligible for incentive programs because it's a regulatory requirement, not an incremental investment. The chargers themselves and the make-ready beyond code minimum can typically be funded.

AB 1236 expedited permitting

Under AB 1236, San Francisco (like every California city) is required to process EV charger permits within 5 business days for residential and 10 business days for commercial. The SF Department of Building Inspection generally meets these timelines for compliant applications. Pre-permit consultation through the SF Environment Department's EV programs helps identify common application issues before they cause permit delays.

What's NOT available in SF

• SDG&E PYD: doesn't apply — different utility territory.
• SCE Charge Ready: doesn't apply — different utility territory.
• SCAQMD: doesn't apply — different air district.
• SF direct city cash rebate: limited. The city's strategy emphasizes building code requirements and process streamlining over direct cash. CleanPowerSF handles the energy-side rebate function.

Considerations for SF projects

For new commercial construction: EV-ready infrastructure is a code requirement, not an incentive opportunity. Plan that into the construction budget. The incentive opportunities sit on top of the code minimum — chargers themselves, additional ports beyond minimum, and make-ready beyond what the code requires.

For multifamily developers: the SF stack is one of the strongest in California — federal §30C plus PG&E EV Charge 2 plus CleanPowerSF plus BAAQMD Charge!. AB 2127 multifamily requirements drive the regulatory timing.

For workplace and office charging: the corporate sector in SF has been an early adopter; PG&E EV Charge 2 plus BAAQMD Charge! covers most of the funding stack for typical office-park deployments.

For DCFC corridors and public-access fast charging: CALeVIP 2.0 GSPP and federal CFI Community are the primary levers. SF's high-density urban form makes traditional DCFC siting harder than in suburban regions; transit hubs and public garages tend to be the active deployment sites.

For the full filterable list of programs at a specific SF address, use the main rebate database with your project ZIP.

Sources and verification

This page is verified monthly against agency-administered programs. Confirm program status and dollar amounts directly with each agency before applying. The list below points to administering-agency pages for the major programs covered above.

• BAAQMD Charge! Program — Bay Area Air Quality Management District; regional charging incentive across nine Bay Area counties including San Francisco
• PG&E EV Charge 2 — Pacific Gas and Electric Company; turnkey installation program for multifamily and small business in PG&E territory
• CleanPowerSF — San Francisco's Community Choice Aggregator; runs EV Charge SF for member sites
• CALeVIP statewide programs — California Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project; state-administered L2 and DCFC cash rebates
• HCD Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities — California HCD capital grant for affordable housing including EV charging infrastructure
• IRS §30C Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit — Internal Revenue Service; 30 percent federal tax credit, terminates June 30, 2026
• Argonne 30C Census Tract Locator — Argonne National Laboratory; SF has heavy 30C tract coverage; verify per address

For the full source list and verification methodology, see our methodology.