On Thursday, June 9th, the Biden Administration proposed new standards for its program to build a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations by 2030. The new proposed standards from the Department of Transportation and Department of Energy aim to ensure states deploy chargers with similar payment systems, pricing information, and charging speeds. According to the press release, the goal of this standardization is to “ensure everyone can use the network – no matter what car you drive or which state you charge in…today’s minimum standards and requirements will guide States on how to spend federal funds in a way that makes chargers function the same from state-to-state, easy to find, use, and pay for, no matter who operates chargers.” It is expected that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) — a non-regulatory agency housed within the Department of Commerce – will also have a role to play in standardizing EV charging across the country.
As currently written, the standards would require government-funded EV charging stations use DC Fast Chargers and have at least four ports capable of simultaneously charging four EVs and each must be at or above 150 kW. It would also bar charging stations from requiring a membership to use them.
Additionally, as part of the $7.5 billion set aside for changing stations in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, states are required to submit electric-vehicle charging plans to access the bulk of those funds.