Fuel Retailers Stand Against Bill to Open Up Rest Areas to EV Charging
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Industry groups representing fuel retailers across the country pushed back against a bill that could halt private investment in electric vehicle (EV) charging.
NACS, trade association representing the convenience and fuel retailing industry; NATSO, the trade association for the American travel plaza and truck stop industry; and SIGMA, the national trade association representing fuel marketers, announced their opposition to the Recharge Your Electric Car on the Highway to Alleviate Range Gaps Effectively (RECHARGE) Act. (S.4989). Introduced Aug. 1 by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), the bill seeks to amend federal law constraining commercial activity at federal highway rest areas by explicitly enabling EV charging at these rest areas and has been endorsed by EVgo and the Sierra Club.
According to RECHARGE sponsors, this would facilitate the expansion of EV charging infrastructure on federal highways and lower range anxiety as the public transitions to more electric vehicles. However, according to NACS, NATSO and SIGMA, the bill threatens to undermine policy set through the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Grant Program under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) that was designed to leverage private investment in EV charging.
[Read more: Illinois Opens First EV Chargers Under State EPA Grant Program]
"Our industry has demonstrated a willingness to invest in EV charging. This legislation represents a misguided approach to electrification that ultimately will limit the development of a safe and reliable EV charging network," said David Fialkov, executive vice president of government affairs for NATSO and SIGMA. "Allowing EV charging at rest areas will keep the private sector from installing EV chargers at today's refueling locations. The fastest way to eliminate range anxiety is to incentivize private industry to invest in EV charging infrastructure so drivers can refuel where they do today.
"Introduction of the RECHARGE Act undermines the progress in EV charging installation that has been made since enactment of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which laid the groundwork for the private sector to invest in EV charging stations," he said.
The IIJA included provisions ensuring that locations for alternative fueling must consider the availability of amenities such as food and restrooms, and refrained from incorporating provisions that would allow states to unfairly compete with the private sector by installing EV charging stations at rest areas, the associations noted.
Introduction of the RECHARGE Act comes at a time when many state departments of transportation are awarding grant dollars to private fuel retailers to build out their charging networks, altering the competitive landscape could upend installation plans already in progress. More than half of all NEVI grants have been awarded to fuel retailing locations, underscoring both the pivotal role that fuel retailers play in building out a safe and reliable nationwide network of DC fast-charging stations and the desire by private industry to do so, the associations added.
"Drivers of electric vehicles deserve all the benefits that drivers of conventional vehicles have today with plenty of options for refueling competing with one another to keep costs low and constantly improve offers including food, beverages, and the full range of services that motorists have come to expect," added Paige Anderson, director of government relations for NACS. "The RECHARGE Act would undermine private sector investment and instead leave electric vehicle drivers with fewer charging options at deserted rest areas that don't give customers what they want. It makes no sense to reverse the policy choices made in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act before they have a chance to work which is just what the RECHARGE Act would do."
NACS, NATSO and SIGMA also stated that allowing EV charging stations at rest areas would discourage private investment through the creation of "an unlevel playing field in which state governments do not have to compete for customers from an advantaged location on the Interstate right-of-way." Federal law has prohibited the sale of automotive services and food at state-operated rest areas to encourage competition between private businesses located at the Interstate exit interchanges.
The full text of the RECHARGE Act is available here.