NATSO, along with the National Association of Convenience Stores and the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America, urged members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to incentivize private sector investment in electric vehicle charging as they begin developing highway reauthorization legislation. The groups urged lawmakers to refrain from allowing regulated utilities to misuse their monopolistic status to crowd out private market participation in EV refueling.
In a Dec. 2 letter to Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-Mo.), NATSO and the trade organizations said that if Congress creates incentives and a regulatory landscape to encourage fuel retailers to invest in alternative fuels, including electricity, retailers will make those investments.
[Read NATSO’s letter to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee here.]
The associations encouraged lawmakers to examine the history of biofuels incentives as a model for encouraging private sector investment in alternative fuels. The Renewable Fuel Standard and the Biodiesel Tax Credit created a strong incentive for fuel retailers to invest in the infrastructure and capital necessary to bring cleaner burning biofuels to market. This has resulted in a vibrant market for biofuels in the United States. That the same approach can work with respect to EV charging infrastructure, the groups wrote.
Beyond ensuring that utilities cannot use their monopolistic status to undercut a competitive EV market, the groups asked the Committee to consider other critical policies to grow the EV marketplace. Those policies include: developing a standard system allowing operators of charging stations to profitably sell electricity without interference from state laws; establishing grant programs for alternative fuel infrastructure investments similar to the program established in America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2019 (S.2302); and maintaining the ban on commercialized Interstate rest areas and not permitting EV charging within federal Interstate rights of way.
Subscribe to Updates
NATSO provides a breadth of information created to strengthen travel plazas’ ability to meet the needs of the travelling public in an age of disruption. This includes knowledge filled blog posts, articles and publications. If you would like to receive a digest of blog post and articles directly in your inbox, please provide your name, email and the frequency of the updates you want to receive the email digest.
