Two separate California regulatory developments are changing the near-term requirements surrounding heavy-duty electric charging and corporate greenhouse gas reporting, with the state proposing an exemption for emerging megawatt charging infrastructure while giving large companies three additional months to submit their first emissions reports.
The California Energy Commission (CEC) recently opened a rulemaking that would exempt certain Megawatt Charging System (MCS) chargers from the state’s existing electric vehicle charger reliability and reporting requirements. Separately, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has proposed moving the first reporting deadline under Senate Bill 253 from August 10 to November 10, 2026, a change still working through the agency’s rulemaking process.
California proposes different treatment for MCS chargers
The CEC proposal would exempt publicly or ratepayer-funded EV chargers equipped with MCS connectors from existing charger reliability standards. The existing requirements do not distinguish between passenger-vehicle charging and the higher-power infrastructure being developed for heavy-duty trucks.
California’s existing performance requirements apply to certain publicly funded DC fast chargers installed after January 1, 2024. Among the requirements is a 97% uptime standard calculated at the charging-port level, along with operation and maintenance requirements and reporting provisions.
Under the proposed amendments, chargers using connectors that conform to the MCS standard would be excluded from certain reliability, reporting, customer-service and performance requirements.
MCS technology remains in the early stages of its product lifecycle, with connectors and related infrastructure that have not yet been deployed at the same scale as more established commercial EV charging systems. Fewer requirements during this early deployment period could help support development of the heavy-duty charging market.
The proposal also would exempt MCS charging ports from a requirement that station operators provide customers with a way to report outages. That change is connected to the broader proposed MCS reliability exemption.
MCS is being developed for the significantly higher charging power required by battery-electric heavy-duty trucks. California already has commercial charging projects preparing for the technology, including WattEV facilities designed to eventually transition from Combined Charging System equipment to megawatt charging.
The rulemaking includes changes beyond MCS. It also proposes giving charging network providers additional time to obtain Open Charge Point Protocol 2.0.1 certification. Under the current rules, networked DC fast chargers installed after September 27, 2026, must support OCPP 2.0.1. The proposed changes would create a certification-pending pathway for providers actively working through that process.
The CEC is accepting written comments on the proposed amendments through 5 p.m. PT on September 22 and will hold a public hearing September 24 at 10 a.m. PT.
SB 253 deadline moves from August to November
At the same time, companies preparing to comply with California’s corporate emissions disclosure requirements have received additional time.
CARB has proposed moving the first SB 253 Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions reporting deadline from August 10 to November 10, 2026, giving reporting entities three additional months to prepare their initial submissions. The change is part of a Notice of Modified Text CARB issued July 27, and it remained open for public comment through August 11. CARB must still finalize the revised regulation and resubmit it to the Office of Administrative Law before the new date takes legal effect. At recent public workshops, CARB staff have told companies to plan around November 10 regardless of where the formal rulemaking stands.
SB 253, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, applies to U.S.-based business entities with more than $1 billion in annual revenue that do business in California. The law requires covered companies to disclose greenhouse gas emissions for the prior fiscal year.
The deadline change updates the timeline covered in an earlier ACT News report on the climate transparency regulation, which identified August 10 as the original first-year reporting date for qualifying fleet operators and other large companies.
CARB plans to release additional guidance for 2026 Scope 1 and Scope 2 reporting by September 1, ahead of the proposed November deadline. The agency is separately developing requirements covering reporting in 2027 and subsequent years.
Fleets will also have a specific opportunity to weigh in as CARB develops those later requirements. The agency has scheduled an August 26 virtual listening session for energy, utilities, transportation, logistics and waste companies, including businesses involved in freight, airlines, rail and shipping.
