The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on proposed minimum standards and requirements for projects funded under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program and projects for the construction of publicly accessible electric vehicle chargers funded under title 23, United States Code. FHWA also released additional resources to help states successfully complete their deployment plans and access NEVI Formula Program funding to build out a national network of electric vehicle chargers. These resources include new NEVI Formula Program Questions and Answers and an exception template to help states, particularly rural states, evaluate the best locations for charging stations when it may not be possible to provide charging stations at the required 50-mile intervals.
Charging stations would be required to contain a minimum number and type of chargers capable of supporting drivers’ charging needs. Additionally, FHWA proposed rules would require consistency regarding the installation, operation, and maintenance of NEVI Formula Program projects to provide the traveling public with reliable expectations for their charging experience. The proposed rule would further specify the required minimum density of provided chargers, payment methods, and requirements for customer support services.
Other proposed requirements seek to create a seamless national network of EV charging infrastructure that could communicate and operate on the same software platforms from one state to another; address traffic control devices and on-premise signage; data submittal requirements to help create a public EV charging database; and network connectivity requirements to allow for secure remote monitoring, diagnostics, control, and updates.
The proposed rule is expected to publish in the Federal Register soon. A signed copy of the document submitted to the Federal Register for publication is available on FHWA’s website.
