New federal guidance Controlling $5 billion in EV fast charger funds in the U.S. could direct more money to gas stations and truck parking operators. result? The future of your car “top-up” looks a lot like the present.
This week, the U.S. Department of Transportation released new interim guidance on the new National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program. These rules suggest how states can spend $5 billion on new electric vehicle fast chargers, with the goal of building a national highway network of about 500,000 public chargers. The NEVI program was originally established by the Biden administration’s infrastructure bill in 2021 to remove concerns about a car buyer’s biggest electric car: They will get out of control.
But the plan came under fire in the first few weeks of the Donald Trump administration, part of what the president calls “Electric Vehicle Authorization.” Clicking “pause” the program for several months and stopping payments to states. (After winning the case in a few blue cases, the department was forced to reraise funds in some states.)
The new guide, which has not yet been finalized, is not very different from the old language. The Federal Highway Administration, the agency responsible, said the goal is to “simplify” the program, making it easier for states to obtain charging currency from the companies that built them, and then quickly get the charger into the ground. It directs states to submit new plans to use charger funds within 30 days.
The agency has also added some new rules, including rules that encourage states to donate money to places where businesses that own radio stations also own grounds below them. The goal here is to “accelerate project delivery”, which is good news for current people in the (now mainly gasoline) refueling industry. Big winners may include names you recognize from today’s road trips: Truck parking operators like Pilot Pilot K, Love’s Travel Stops and America Travel Centers; convenience store chains like Sheetz, Wawa and Kwik Trip; and even some big stores like Walmart.
At present, these federal recommendations have no legal effect. They just “encourage”. But if states follow the guidance and send billions of dollars in public charging currency to such companies, drivers with electric vehicles will likely be drawn to the same comfortable and affluent venue to charge today’s gasoline car visits today.
Loren McDonald, chief analyst at EV charging data analytics firm Paren, said the move makes sense. Installing electric vehicle charging is already a complex task, requiring licenses, construction and sometimes expensive and delayed purchase of electrical equipment. Add to that several different companies (one website host, and another one that actually operates charging devices), some projects have seen holding. With new arrangements, he said, “You don’t have to negotiate leases, it can take a long time.”
In addition, survey data also suggest that when electric vehicle drivers stop charging, such as truck parking facilities, this process can take 15 minutes to an hour, depending on the car. Tiffany Wlazlowski Neuman, spokesman for the Trade Association, which represents travel centers and truck stops, praised the new Nevi regulations and said drivers want continuity. “The refueling experience used for electricity should be as similar as today’s refueling experience and should be adhered to consumer behavior and habits,” she wrote in an email.
