Texas is at the heart of a decision on electric vehicle charging infrastructure that could have national consequences, and it’s receiving industry push back. Now, the vote on a final decision regarding its allocation of federal funding for charging stations has been delayed as a result of its plan to require the inclusion of Tesla-style plugs.
The vote surrounds a proposal by the Texas department of transportation that charging companies be required to include Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) plugs at their stations in order to receive government funding.
A vote on the measure was previously supposed to take place on June 29, then in July, and has now been delayed again. Reuters reports that the vote has been taken off the department’s July agenda and pushed to August 16.
More: EV Charging Companies Aren’t Happy About Texas Making Tesla Plugs Standard
Following the introduction of the measure, a group of EV charger makers pushed back, saying they would need time to better understand how NACS plugs worked with their products, which by and large use the Combined Charging System (CCS) plug.
The June vote was delayed by members of the state’s transport commission, who said they wanted to better understand the NACS plug and its implications before voting on the issue. But industry pressure still seems to be at the heart of the most recent delay.
“We do think the reason why this decision is being punted is there is reaction within the industry that this is a big announcement and let’s just do this responsibly,” an anonymous industry source told Reuters. “Texas is a bit of a bulwark. What they do sets a precedent for other state transport departments. The clout that they can throw around is pretty powerful.”
With automakers like Ford, GM, and Mercedes announcing that they will adopt the NACS standard, its availability at charging stations is only set to become more important. For its part, Tesla has agreed to open its charging stations to CCS-equipped electric vehicles in order to receive federal funding.
In addition to Texas, Washington state has proposed a similar plan, while Kentucky has already mandated that charging companies include the NACS plug.
