California Reopens CALeVIP Fast Charging Grants: The Two New Windows and What Changed

California's largest EV charging incentive is moving again. In late May 2026, the California Energy Commission (CEC) scheduled the next two funding windows of the Fast Charge California Project, the DC fast charging component of the California Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project (CALeVIP), and made more than $55.2 million available for public fast charging statewide. The first new window opens October 7, 2026. For commercial property owners who watched the prior window close in January 2026 with its waitlist cleared by March, this is the reopening to plan around, and the rules have changed enough that last year's plan is not a safe guide.

⚠️ Timing note: Both of these CALeVIP windows open after June 30, 2026, the date the federal Section 30C Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit ended under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21). A project applying in either window will be placed in service well after that date, so it cannot claim the federal 30C credit, which is no longer available. Build the funding math around the California incentive and any utility make-ready program, not the federal credit.

The two windows at a glance

The CEC scheduled two separate application windows. CALeVIP labels them Window 2 and Window 3, following the first Fast Charge California window that closed in January 2026. They are not identical, and the difference in the per-port cap is the headline.

Window 2: October 7, 2026 to January 14, 2027. Covers up to 100% of eligible installation costs for DC fast chargers, capped per charging port on a two-tier scale set by guaranteed output: $55,000 per port from 150 kW to 274.99 kW, and $100,000 per port at 275 kW and above (Implementation Manual, Table 5). A site is paid on a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 20 ports; you may build more, but the incentive stops at 20.

The $100,000 headline number is the one the CEC leads with, and it is real, but it only applies to ports guaranteed at 275 kW or more. Assuming it for a 150 kW or 200 kW port overstates the incentive by $45,000 per port, which on an eight-port site is a $360,000 hole in a project budget.

Window 3: February 24, 2027 to May 27, 2027. Covers up to 100% of eligible installation costs, up to $55,000 per port, for any qualifying charger with a minimum output of 150 kW. The CEC has announced the dates and the flat cap, but the Window 3 implementation manual is not published yet, so its port minimums, maximums, and site output rules are not final. Treat every Window 3 figure as announced rather than settled.

The reason Window 3's top number is lower is a deliberate structural change. Window 2 pays more for higher-power equipment; Window 3 removes the separate rebate tier for 275 kW and above, so all eligible equipment defaults to the same $55,000 per port regardless of how powerful it is. If your project leans on very high-power hardware, the October window is where the larger per-port number lives.

Guaranteed output, not nameplate, decides which tier you land in. The program defines it as the maximum power each port can deliver when every port on the site is in use. A 350 kW charger sharing a constrained service with three others may only guarantee 200 kW per port, which places it in the $55,000 tier despite its nameplate. This is the single most common way a project's grant math comes in high.

What changed for these windows

Both new windows come with updated terms, conditions, and reporting requirements, and several eligibility rules tightened relative to the first window. Treat the lists below as a map of what moved, and confirm the specifics against the official program manual before you build a plan around any single point, because CALeVIP publishes detailed implementation guides that govern the actual application.

Four changes apply to both Window 2 and Window 3:

• Fewer eligible site types. Charging hubs, hotels, and business districts are no longer eligible site types. The program is steering toward businesses, public facilities, high-traffic destinations, and sites along major travel corridors.
• You must own the equipment. Applicants must be both the incentive recipient and the owner of the charging equipment. A pure host-and-lease arrangement where a third party owns the hardware no longer fits the applicant definition.
• ENERGY STAR equipment only. All funded chargers must be ENERGY STAR certified.
• No CEQA exemption for unpaved sites. California Environmental Quality Act exemptions are no longer allowable for unpaved sites, which raises the bar for greenfield or undeveloped locations.

Two further changes apply to Window 3 only. First, it requires just a single CCS connector per site, which gives operators more room to weight the rest of a Window 3 site toward NACS, subject to any other connector rules in the final terms. Second, as noted above, it removes the separate rebate tier for equipment of 275 kW and above, which is what flattens every eligible charger to the $55,000 per-port cap.

What the program funds, and who can apply

The Fast Charge California Project funds publicly accessible DC fast charging, and the incentive goes to the business or property owner who installs and hosts the charger, not to drivers. The defining requirement is readiness: applicants must have ready-to-build projects before they apply, including a final utility service design and all required permits. This is not a program you enter at the idea stage. The CEC has consistently given top priority to applicants who have already done the pre-planning so chargers reach the ground quickly.

A few more requirements shape who realistically qualifies:

• Equity is built into the allocation. At least 50% of CALeVIP incentives must go to chargers serving low-income, disadvantaged, and tribal communities, and the CEC has said priority for this funding goes to projects in tribal areas, disadvantaged communities, and low-income areas, alongside high-traffic destinations and corridors.
• Public access is mandatory. These are public charging incentives. A charger reserved for tenants, employees, or a fleet does not qualify under this project.
• There is an active-project ceiling. Applicants with more than 50 active projects across CALeVIP 1.0, CALeVIP 2.0, and the related Communities in Charge program are ineligible for new awards until their active count drops below 50, which keeps large operators from monopolizing a window.
• The 150 kW power floor is a per-port guarantee, in both windows. Equipment must deliver at least 150 kW at each port with all ports in use, unless the site is enrolled in a utility power-management program. A charger that only reaches 150 kW when a single port is active may not clear the bar, which matters when you size hardware and electrical service. In Window 2 the floor is definitional: a port that cannot guarantee 150 kW is not a "Charging Port" under the program and cannot be funded at all, at any tier.

Who runs it, and how the last window performed

CALeVIP is funded through the CEC's Clean Transportation Program. The Fast Charge California Project under CALeVIP 2.0 is administered by the Center for Sustainable Energy on the CEC's behalf; a parallel CEC block grant, Communities in Charge, is run by CALSTART. If you have worked with one, do not assume the other's portal or rules carry over.

The track record is the strongest argument that this funding actually converts to steel in the ground. The first Fast Charge California window awarded roughly $54 million for more than 1,200 ready-to-build fast charging ports across 35 counties, with more than 60% of those chargers in disadvantaged and low-income communities. Across all of its phases, CALeVIP has supported more than 10,500 charger installations statewide. The CEC has tied the new funding to keeping pace with California's growing EV fleet and the state's clean transportation goals.

The stacking catch, and it is bigger than the federal deadline

This is the part that changes the math for anyone who has run California charging projects before. For years, the standard California playbook stacked a CALeVIP grant with the federal 30C charger credit and a utility make-ready program. Neither half of that stack survives on these windows, and the second half is the one that can cost you money after the fact.

The federal half simply expired. The 30C credit ended June 30, 2026. Window 2 does not open until October 7, 2026, and equipment funded through it will be placed in service long after that date, so there is no federal charger credit left to claim.

The utility half is the dangerous one, because the money still exists and the program still says no. Fast Charge California prohibits stacking outright. The FCCP-2 Implementation Manual names the prohibited co-funders directly: other California Energy Commission funding, whether block grants or competitive solicitations and from any CEC division; investor-owned utility charger programs, with SCE Charge Ready 2 named specifically; publicly owned utility programs; community choice aggregator rebates; air district programs, with the Bay Area and San Joaquin Valley districts named; and NEVI. The list is written as "includes, but is not limited to," so it is a floor rather than a complete inventory.

This is not a percentage that trims your award. It disqualifies the installation. Recoupment is dollar for dollar against the improperly stacked funds, plus collection costs, at the administrator's sole and absolute discretion, and the liability is personal to the participant. You cannot contract it away to a developer or a charge point operator, and you attest in writing that you complied before the incentive is paid.

What is genuinely still available alongside FCCP-2 is a short and specific list of carve-outs:

• CALeVIP itself, up to 100% of eligible installation costs within the per-port cap.
• Low Carbon Fuel Standard revenue. LCFS is an ongoing credit stream earned by operating the chargers rather than a capital grant, which is why it sits outside the prohibition.
• Federal funding, including federal tax credits and incentives, except any federal funds administered by the CEC. That exception is what pulls NEVI back into the prohibited column in California, since California's NEVI money runs through the CEC.
• Utility Tariff Rules 29 and 45, which govern utility-side infrastructure. These are tariff obligations, not the utility incentive programs that are prohibited, and the two are easy to confuse. Confirm which one your utility is actually offering you before you count on it.
• Other funding applied to costs FCCP does not cover, up to 100% of overall project cost, with no profit.

If a utility make-ready program is the better deal for your site, that is a legitimate answer. It is just an either/or, not a both. And if the same address applies to two programs, whichever program processes first reserves the funding; the applicant does not choose. Cancelling an FCCP application after funds are reserved in order to take NEVI counts against you as a poor performer on future rounds.

One general principle is still worth knowing even though it does not bite here: a tax-exempt grant reduces the cost basis you can claim under any federal credit, so a grant and a credit never simply add up to their combined face value. There is no federal charger credit left to stack on these windows, but the rule governs any future project that does beat a federal deadline. The full set of stacking rules, including which ones cap a share and which ones disqualify you outright, is worked through in Stacking Incentives.

For California commercial property owners

If you own or manage a California site that fits the new profile, a public-facing location on a corridor or near a high-traffic destination, in or serving a disadvantaged or low-income community, and you can realistically get to a final utility design and permits before the window, this is worth pursuing. The single most important move is to start the utility service process now. Interconnection and final service design are the long pole in any California DC fast charging project, and the program will not accept an application that is not ready to build.

Two practical steps:

1. Model the project before you commit. A four-port DC fast charging station is a major capital decision even at 100% of eligible installation costs, because the cap is per port and not every cost is eligible. Run your own numbers with the Commercial ROI Snapshot before you assume the grant covers the whole project.
2. Check the full incentive picture for your address. California layers state, utility, and local programs unevenly by territory. Start with the California state guide and the Incentive Stack Estimator to see what else applies where you are.

A short checklist before you count on a CALeVIP window

• Confirmed your site type is still eligible (not a charging hub, hotel, or business district)
• Confirmed you will own the charging equipment, not just host it
• Started the utility service application and have a path to final service design before the window
• Confirmed the project can be permit-ready (ready to build) before you apply
• Picked the right window for your equipment: October 2026 if your ports guarantee 275 kW or more and can reach the $100,000 tier, February 2027 if a 150 kW unit at $55,000 per port fits either way
• Checked which Window 2 tier your ports actually land in, using guaranteed output with all ports in use, not nameplate
• Confirmed the chargers you plan to buy are ENERGY STAR certified
• Confirmed no prohibited co-funder is in your budget: no other CEC funding, no investor-owned or publicly owned utility charger program, no CCA rebate, no air district program, no NEVI
• Decided which single program you are pursuing, because FCCP and the prohibited programs are an either/or and the first program to process reserves the money
• Verified current dates, caps, and rules directly with CALeVIP, because program details change between announcement and launch

Program details shift between the announcement and the day a window opens. Use the dates and figures here to plan, then verify everything against the CALeVIP program pages before you build a budget or submit an application.

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Last factually verified: 2026-08-14 against the California Energy Commission announcement (late May 2026), the CALeVIP Fast Charge California Project Window 2 and Window 3 program pages, the FCCP-2 Implementation Manual, and contemporaneous coverage from the Center for Sustainable Energy, Charged EVs, EV Infrastructure News, and T&D World.

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Corrections (August 14, 2026): This article previously said that utility make-ready programs from PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E still stack with a CALeVIP Fast Charge California award. They do not. FCCP-2 names investor-owned utility charger programs among its prohibited co-funders, and improper stacking is recouped dollar for dollar from the participant personally. The section has been rewritten to state the prohibition and to list the actual carve-outs, which are LCFS revenue, non-CEC federal funding, Utility Tariff Rules 29 and 45, and funding applied to costs FCCP does not cover.