MIAMI BEACH, Fla., Dec. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Car Charging Group, Inc. (OTCQB: CCGI) ("CarCharging"), the leading provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging services, announced its support for the State of New York Public Service Commission and its determination to permit owners and operators of EV charging stations, such as CarCharging and its subsidiaries, to implement a kilowatt hour ("kWh") based fee structure.  The decision was based on the conclusion that EV charging stations do not fall within the definition of an electric plant nor do the owners and operators fall within the definition of an electric corporation; therefore, the commission ruled that it does not have jurisdiction over EV charging stations. New York joins various other states in which per kWh pricing policies are permitted, including California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington.

This decision provides CarCharging with the opportunity to vastly improve the method by which charging fees are set and more closely resembles the gallon standard for gasoline-powered cars.  Preventing station owners from setting pricing based on kilowatt hour restricted pricing to a time based structure, which was highly inequitable given that the rate at which electric cars pull power from a charging station is regulated by the EV and models draw this power at different rates. For example, a Chevy Volt pulls power at a maximum rate of 3.3 kilowatts while a Nissan LEAF pulls power at a maximum rate of 6.6 kilowatts. Therefore, in order to pull the same amount of power, a Chevy Volt would need to be connected to a station twice as long as the LEAF and with time-based fees, the payment for charging the Volt would be twice as much. Additionally, time-based fee structures have the potential to charge fees as long as the EV is connected to the station and not limit the fees to the time that the EV was charging.

"There have been so many positive developments in New York to support electric vehicles over the past year and this decision by the Commission is no exception," said Michael D. Farkas, CEO of CarCharging.  "Setting pricing by the kilowatt hour is the most equitable pricing structure for EV charging, and we congratulate the commission for responding to changes in the market and permitting us to set pricing in a method that suits the industry. We hope that New York will serve as an example for other states and that the commissions in all 50 states will adjust their policies in order to further encourage the adoption of electric cars."

All of CarCharging's EV charging services in New York, as well as the charging services of two of its subsidiaries, Beam Charging and EVPass, are now set at a rate of $0.49 per kWh. Users can pinpoint EV charging station locations using the map at www.CarCharging.com.

About Car Charging Group, Inc.  
Car Charging Group, Inc. (OTCQB: CCGI) is a pioneer in nationwide public electric vehicle (EV) charging services, enabling EV drivers to easily recharge at locations throughout the United States. Headquartered in Miami Beach, FL with offices in San Francisco, CA; New York, NY; Phoenix, AZ; and Barcelona, Spain; CarCharging's business model is designed to accelerate the adoption of public EV charging.

CarCharging provides a comprehensive turnkey program to commercial and residential property owners for EV charging services. CarCharging owns and operates the EV charging equipment; manages the installation, maintenance, and related services; and shares some of the EV charging revenue with the property owner. Thereby, eliminating most capital costs for the property owners, and providing a potential additional revenue stream.

CarCharging has strategic partnerships across multiple business sectors including multi-family residential and commercial properties, parking garages, shopping malls, retail parking, and municipalities.  CarCharging's partners include, but are not limited to Walgreens, IKEA, Wal-Mart, Simon Property Group, Equity One, Equity Residential, Forest City, Cinemark USA, Fox Studios, Facebook, PayPal, Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants, Mayo Clinic, San Diego Padres, University of Pennsylvania, Ace Parking, Central/USA Parking, Icon Parking, Rapid Parking, Parking Concepts, CVS, Related Management, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, City of Phoenix (AZ), City of Philadelphia (PA), and City of Miami Beach (FL).

CarCharging is committed to creating a robust, feature-rich network for EV charging and is hardware agnostic.  CarCharging's owns the Blink network, and owns and operates EV charging equipment manufactured by Blink, Aerovironment, ChargePoint, Efacec, General Electric, Nissan, and SemaConnect. CarCharging's Level II charging stations are compatible with EVs sold in the United States including the Tesla Model S, Nissan LEAF, Chevy Volt, Mitsubishi i-Miev, Toyota Prius Plug-In, Honda Fit EV, and Toyota Rav4 EV, as well as many others scheduled for release over the next few years.

Through its subsidiary, Blink Network, CarCharging also provides residential EV charging solutions for single-family homes.  For more information, please visit www.BlinkHQ.com.

For more information about CarCharging, please visit www.CarCharging.com, www.facebook.com/Car.Charging, or www.twitter.com/CarCharging.

Forward-Looking Safe Harbor Statement:
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined within Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. By their nature, forward-looking statements and forecasts involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the near future.  Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of Car Charging Group, Inc., and members of its management as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed conditions.

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SOURCE Car Charging Group, Inc.