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San Francisco Included In Federal Electric Car Program

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – The Obama administration is getting into the electric car craze and is trying to make it easier to find a place to charge up, including right here in San Francisco.

The federal government is buying a small fleet of Chevy Volts and will install power stations in San Francisco and four other cities.

KCBS' Doug Sovern Reports:

"The federal purchase of these vehicles and accompanying plug-in infrastructure is exciting and broadens our investment in advanced technology vehicles," said Martha Johnson, head of the U.S. General Services Administration.

Stations will also be built in Los Angeles, San Diego, Washington and Detroit.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said within four years, the federal government will stop buying any vehicles that aren't fuel-efficient.

"We can become the first country to put one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015," he said. "And we can reduce America's oil imports by one-third by 2025."

San Francisco International Airport is already installing 20 electric car charging stations and Oakland International Airport has new stations that can charge up to 15 cars.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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