Indiana Lawmakers Support Electric Vehicle Infrastructure

Indiana lawmakers are laying the groundwork for a new statewide electric vehicle (EV) charging network as $100 million in federal funding makes its way, said a report.

The Biden-Harris administration will allocate $5 billion over five years to establish a nationwide charging station network to encourage EV use across the country.

Rep. Ed Soliday (R-Valparaiso) is the lead sponsor of a bill that outlines how Indiana‘s charging network might operate. He said that the bill is only a start.

“This is an iterative bill. This is not a complete answer to how we’re going to handle electric vehicles,” Soliday explained.

In addition, the law establishes standards for the pricing at charging stations and also sets new standards that Indiana‘s utility commission has to observe when approving charging station projects.

The legislation has been endorsed by both parties within the General Assembly, where it has been approved by several committees as well as the House of Representatives with unanimous approval.

The bill will also permit private companies to create pilot charging networks that are designed for public-use EVs, including school buses. Utilities could recover the costs of the pilot networks by increasing their base fees to customers.

Kerri Garvin, executive director of the non-profit Greater Indiana Clean Cities, stated that the pilot programs could pave the way for larger projects later on.

“Pilots allow companies and stakeholders to evaluate the feasibility, design, associated costs and benefits for larger-scale deployments,” Garvin pointed out.

EV sales across the U.S. doubled from 2020 to 2021, according to the Pew Research Center. Carmakers are planning to add one million EVs on the road this year. The transportation industry is responsible for more than one-third of America’s greenhouse gas emissions.