- The Trump administration has paused a program that funded electric vehicle chargers.
- Existing obligations will be met, but new ones are on hold until updated guidance is issued.
- The updated program is expected to have a greater focus on costs and benefits.
The Trump administration’s war on electric vehicles is heating up as the Federal Highway Administration has effectively paused the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program. It provides funding to states to “strategically deploy electric vehicle chargers and to establish an interconnected network to facilitate data collection, access, and reliability.”
While the program isn’t dead, the Federal Highway Administration recently wrote to state transportation directors to inform them that the new leadership of the U.S. Department of Transportation has “decided to review the policies underlying the implementation of the NEVI” program. It went on to say the Federal Highway Administration will be updating the program’s guidance to align with the department’s new policies and priorities.
More: America’s EV Charging Infrastructure Has Doubled In Less Than Four Years
It then referred to a new order that dictates policies be “based on sound economic principles and analysis supported by rigorous cost-benefit requirements and data-driven decisions.” It also called for a reduced focus on emissions as it claimed previous calculations were marked by “logical deficiencies” and “politicalization.”
Getting back to the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, updated guidance is expected to be posted this spring and open for public comment. In the meantime, the Federal Highway Administration is immediately suspending the approval of all state plans and not making any new obligations until the new guidance is posted. States will then have to submit new plans and have them approved.
On the bright side, the government said “reimbursement of existing obligations will be allowed in order to not disrupt current financial commitments.” However, states won’t be held responsible if they don’t implement their existing plans.
In essence, the $5 billion program is being retooled and new funding will be delayed. How long is anyone’s guess, but it would likely be hard to kill the program as it was part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
