Federal EV Charging Program Suspended

The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) has ordered all states to end their electric vehicle charging infrastructure programs, part of a $5 billion planned federal investment that would develop a nationwide system of EV charging stations to alleviate one of consumers’ main concerns, ‘range anxiety.’

As Aarian Marshall reports in Wired, “Officials at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), which manages the program, ordered state transportation directors to “decertify” the plans that all 50 states have used to outline where and how they will build their charging stations, and with what companies they’ll contract to do so.”

The program was designed to install chargers along major freeways and assist jurisdictions that may not be able to afford the cost.

Marshall notes that “The order may be illegal. It could fly in face of court orders demanding the Trump administration ‘unfreeze’ a funding pause that prevents federal money from flowing to state agencies. It may also violate the Administrative Procedures Act, which requires agencies to follow legal procedures before taking action.”