With the number of electric vehicles (EVs) on U.S. roads projected to reach 78.5 million in 2035, America’s electric companies are making significant investments now to expand access to EV charging, including investing more than $5.3 billion in charging infrastructure and other EV programs, according to a new report released Wednesday by the Edison Electric Institute (EEI).
“Our member electric companies are leading the way in helping customers who are choosing to electrify their transportation,” said EEI Senior Vice President of Customer Solutions Phil Dion.
On Oct. 2, EEI released an update to its Electric Vehicle Sales and the Charging Infrastructure Required Through 2035 report. Originally released in 2018, the updated report provides details about the coming wave of EV sales and the charging infrastructure needed to support the projected EV growth.
According to the report, EEI projects there will be 78.5 million EVs on America’s roads by 2035, up from 4.5 million at the end of 2023. This is more than 26 percent of the nearly 300 million total vehicles (cars and light trucks) expected to be on U.S. roads in 2035.
EEI also forecasts that roughly 42.2 million charge ports will be needed to support the projected level of EVs on U.S. roads in 2035. This includes 325,000 public DC fast charging (DCFC) ports, 2.9 million workplace and multi-family dwelling L2 ports, 3.1 million public L2 ports, and 35.8 million home L2 ports, according to the report.
“Our analysis demonstrates that, while much of the focus of the industry is on 2030, the end of this decade is not the finish line for EV charging infrastructure but closer to the start,” the report says. “As of August 2024, approximately 140,000 DCFC and 1.9 million L2 chargers will need to be installed between now and the end of 2030 to meet demand.”
This pace of EV charging installation then would need to be maintained between 2030 and 2035, which EEI says highlights “the critical need” to enable the rapid deployment of EV charging infrastructure today to meet the continuing needs of EV drivers through 2035 and beyond.
As of July, there were about 134,000 public L2 charging ports and 44,000 DCFC ports available in the United States. The significant difference between the current availability of charging infrastructure and the expected charging infrastructure needed suggests a growing “infrastructure gap” that must be addressed, according to the report.
And utilities are among the stakeholders working now to help close that gap, thanks in part to state and federal funding that’s driving considerable investments in the deployment of a reliable, nationwide, publicly accessible charging network that enables easy EV travel.
For example, direct grant funding was included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Likewise, the Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law in August 2022, included multiple new or expanded provisions to support electric transportation.
According to the report, federal funding is playing a critical role in the public EV charging landscape. Specifically, the report highlights the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, which designates $5 billion to deploy public EV charging.
This funding is the largest public investment ever in EV charging infrastructure, says EEI, noting that as of July, approximately $450 million in NEVI funding has been awarded, and ground has already been broken for new projects. EEI estimates the NEVI program may support as many as 30,000 direct current fast charging ports at 7,500 sites across the country.
At the same time, electric companies across the country are gaining state regulatory approval to invest in electric transportation. These investments are primarily in EV charging infrastructure deployment, which may include charging infrastructure for other applications (such as medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses), as well as other market support activities such as customer education and outreach, the report says.
As of July, state public utility commissions have approved investments totaling more than $5.3 billion, including more than $4.2 billion dedicated to charging infrastructure, EEI says.
“Our members remain committed to supporting policies, especially those focused on proactively enhancing the energy grid, to ensure the transition to EVs is done in a cost-effective way that is also convenient, equitable, and seamless for all drivers,” said Dion.
Electric companies are well-positioned to deploy EV charging infrastructure, according to EEI.
“Studies have shown that increased adoption of EVs, when efficiently added to the energy grid, can provide benefits to all customers,” the report says. “The additional electricity demand from EVs added to the energy grid in a way that more fully utilizes existing infrastructure puts downward pressure on rates for all customers, providing benefits to drivers and non-drivers alike.”
The investments the companies are making in charging infrastructure may take different forms, including offering incentives, typically in the form of rebates, to defray some or all of the cost of the charging equipment and/or the installation costs, the report says.
And beyond directly supporting EV charging infrastructure deployment through direct investment, electric companies play a critical role in preparing the grid for the additional electricity demand from EV charging, according to the report.
“Although the addition of EV charging does not represent an unprecedented growth in demand in terms of scale, it nonetheless can present hurdles for local upgrades needed to accommodate new electric demand,” the report says. “This is particularly true along highways where large new EV charging stations are needed for highway travelers.”
Studies by electric companies such as National Grid and Xcel Energy have shown that, for some electric charging sites, the necessary upgrades to the energy grid should begin as soon as possible to accommodate projected demand in 2030.
The continued expansion of the U.S. EV market, says EEI, will make coordinated collaboration among all EV charging stakeholders, including policymakers, charging service providers, automakers, and electric companies, critical for ensuring a rapid, efficient buildout of necessary charging infrastructure.
Most importantly, the gap in fast charging must be addressed via advanced planning tools and proactive investment in the energy grid.
“We are excited to continue working with our members around the country to evaluate grid capacity and other infrastructure needs due to the growing number of EVs in their service territories,” Dion said.
The post EEI report: Electric companies play critical role in charging millions more EVs appeared first on Daily Energy Insider .
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