California is offering to pay up to $100,000 for each fast-charging port that can deliver 275 kilowatts or more, the top rung of an incentive program that opened for applications on Oct. 7, 2026. The money flows through the California Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project, known as CALeVIP, which the California Energy Commission funds and the Center for Sustainable Energy administers. The window runs until Jan. 14, 2027.
Ports in the next power class down, at 150 kilowatts to just under 275, are capped at $55,000. The difference is the reason the top figure applies only to the fastest hardware.
The 275 kW threshold and the per-port cap
The program page for the Fast Charge California Project sets two incentive levels. A port with guaranteed output from 150 kW to 274.99 kW qualifies for $55,000, and a port at 275 kW and above qualifies for $100,000. In both cases the incentive covers up to 100% of total approved costs, subject to the cap, so a project that costs less than the cap per port is reimbursed for the actual spend.
“Guaranteed output” has a specific meaning. The implementation manual defines it as the maximum power rating for each charging port when all ports are in use, so a charger that shares a power cabinet and slows down when several cars plug in is measured at its shared rate. Ports claiming the higher incentive also need at least 275 kW of site output each. A site may have between four and 20 incentivized ports.
Approved costs include chargers, transformers, electrical panels and switchgear, installation labor, trenching, design and engineering, and several service and warranty items. The manual excludes permits and code compliance, security systems, solar panels and any profit markup by the applicant’s own entity.
Applicant eligibility and the ready-to-build test
Applicants must be California-based businesses, sole proprietorships, nonprofits or government entities, or California Native American tribes listed with the Native American Heritage Commission, and the applicant must own the chargers it is paid to install. Sites must be open to the public. Charging hubs, hotels and business districts are no longer eligible site types in this round, according to the program page, while airports, grocery stores, gas stations, transit hubs, libraries and parking structures remain on the list in CALeVIP’s program overview.
Projects must be ready to build. At the time of application, an applicant has to hold an issued permit and a final utility service design, or an official utility letter stating that no new or upgraded service is needed. At least half of the connectors at each site must be CCS, and construction that began before Oct. 7, 2026 is ineligible. The overview adds that at least 25% of electricians on the make-ready crew must hold EVITP certification and that all workers must be paid prevailing wage.
Applications are funded first-come, first-served, with projects in disadvantaged, low-income or tribal communities moved to the front of the queue. After funds are reserved, the manual gives applicants 90 days to submit proof of a charger and switchgear order and 450 days to finish the project. The program page adds that networked chargers installed on or after Sept. 28, 2026 must use OCPP 2.0.1 and meet the state’s AB 2061 reporting rules, including a 97% uptime standard, and that the incentive generally cannot be combined with other charging grants, utility programs or federal NEVI money.
Funding totals and the earlier rounds
The program pages state no total for this round, but the implementation manual lists at least $27.6 million, statewide with no regional allocations. The Energy Commission’s May 2026 announcement put the combined funding across two application windows at $55.2 million. The second of those, from Feb. 24 to May 27, 2027, caps incentives at $55,000 per port regardless of power level, with a 150 kW minimum.
The release also reports that the preceding round has awarded $54 million for more than 1,200 ready-to-build ports in 35 counties, with over 60% of the chargers in underserved communities. Spencer Reeder, director of the Energy Commission’s Fuels and Transportation Division, said CALeVIP “has been pivotal in bringing chargers to communities and travel corridors that need them most.” The 2025 round was announced in August 2025 as a $55 million program that was the first statewide CALeVIP project to cover up to 100% of eligible costs.
Scott Shepard, the Center for Sustainable Energy’s senior director of transportation programs, framed the readiness test as the point of the design. Electrek’s coverage of the opening quotes him saying “the fastest way to get chargers in the ground is to fund projects that are truly ready to build.” With the queue open from Oct. 7 and funds reserved in order, the Jan. 14, 2027 close at 5:00 p.m. Pacific is the last date for a 275 kW project to claim the $100,000 rate.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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