States inability to build out electric vehicle charging stations over the past few years helped pave the way for the Trump administration to suspend the federal funding program aimed at overcoming drivers’ range anxiety about EVs.
The delays on the part of states now mean that $7.5 billion in funding meant to create grid chargers across the country and win over drivers who are skeptical of EVs has been put on pause and under review by the Trump administration.
The Federal Highway Administration sent a memo to state departments of transportation earlier this month instructing the suspension of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, or NEVI, which allocated funding for states to build EV charging stations. The FHWA said it would work on updating the program’s guidelines by spring.
The program was created by the bipartisan 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. It required states to create EV charging station infrastructure plans and then open grant applications for businesses to apply and begin building out charging stalls.
A “major flaw” is that the program’s implementation varies state by state, said Loren McDonald, who tracks NEVI as chief analyst at the analytics firm Paren.
“At the end of the day, this is based on the states stepping up to the plate and executing it, and that was very inconsistent,” McDonald said.
Full story State implementation was a 'major flaw' of EV charging program
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