San Francisco smooths path for electric car chargers in every new home

San Francisco is accelerating its drive to establish the city as America's electric car capital with the news that the city is to revise its building code to ensure all new homes and offices will be wired for electric car chargers.

The change, which raises the prospect of charging points being installed at all new buildings, is the latest in a series of measures designed to bolster adoption of electric vehicles in the city.

Speaking in his latest address on YouTube city mayor Gavin Newsom, who himself drives an electric car, confirmed that the authorities will launch a "sustainable financing programme" next month, allowing residents to borrow money at an attractive rate to pay for the installation of electric car chargers in their homes.

"If you want to put an electric charging station in your home in anticipation of all these electric vehicles, you can do it through this green financing programme," he said.

The city has also already installed a row of charging stations outside City Hall for electric car users to drive, and is reportedly working with high-profile recharging infrastructure firm Better Place to deploy battery swap stations.

San Francisco is the latest in a series of cities to position itself as an " electric car capital", with Amsterdam and Houston announcing new electric car incentives this week alone.

Infrastructure is being rolled out ahead of the launch of several electric vehicles over the next few years led by Nissan's Leaf and the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid.

However, the anticipated rollout of electric vehicles has prompted concerns that they could place increased pressure on electricity supplies. The issue is particularly acute around Northern California, given Oakland and San Jose have launched electric car initiatives similar to that in San Francisco.

The state's main utility, Pacific Gas & Electric, is reportedly undertaking work to identify maps of neighbourhoods at risk of overloads or blackouts when suburban motorists begin plugging in their cars.