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DOT’s Federal Highway Administration Proposes Rule to Build a National Network of User-Friendly, Reliable, and Accessible Electric Vehicle Chargers

June 23, 2022

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to establish minimum standards and requirements for projects funded under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program. These standards and requirements will help ensure a national electric vehicle (EV) charging network that is user-friendly, reliable, and accessible to all people and interoperable between different charging companies with similar payment systems, pricing information, charging speeds, and more. FHWA invites interested persons to submit comments on any aspect of the information collection in the published notice.

Currently, there are no national standards for the installation, operation, or maintenance of EV charging stations, and wide disparities exist among EV charging stations in key components, such as operational practices, payment methods, site organization, speed and power of chargers, and other essential information. Under FHWA’s proposed rule, the standards would specify requirements for a minimum number and type of chargers capable of supporting drivers’ fast charging needs, the interoperability of EV charging infrastructure, traffic control devices and on-premise signs, data submittal, network connectivity of EV charging infrastructure, and information on publicly available EV charging locations, pricing, real-time availability, and accessibility through mapping applications. These requirements would create consistency of the installation, operation, and maintenance of NEVI Formula Program projects and provide the traveling public with reliable expectations for their EV charging experience. 

The U.S. Access Board is currently developing a technical assistance document on design recommendations for accessible EV charging stations and chargers. The document will provide information on when and how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) Accessibility Standards apply to EV charging stations and chargers and what recommendations will help in making EV charging stations and chargers accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. The document will be available soon on the Board’s website.

Public comments for FHWA’s notice are due by August 22, 2022. Comment submission link can be found in the Federal Register notice and is also available on www.regulations.gov under docket FHWA-2022-0008-0001. For questions about this request for public comment, contact Mr. Gary Jensen, Office of Natural Environment, 1-202-366-2048, or via e-mail at Gary.Jensen@dot.gov, or Ms. Dawn Horan, Office of the Chief Counsel (HCC-30), 1-202-366-9615, or via e-mail at Dawn.M.Horan@dot.gov.