Northeast States to Coordinate EV Charging Efforts

A dozen East Coast states and the District of Columbia have agreed to create regional charging network for electric vehicles that stretches from Maine to Virginia.

The four-year project has been facilitated by the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management, NESCAUM is a nonprofit association of air quality agencies in the region. A primary goal is to standardize charging facilities in a region where residents often travel between states.

Participants are Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.

The initiative aims to install chargers at homes, multi-unit dwellings, workplaces, neighborhoods, along interstate highways and at destinations such as resorts and state parks. Last week New York unveiled a $4 million program to install quick-charge EV stations along its new York State Thruway, thereby enabling EV drivers to travel across the state without leaving the freeway to recharge.

The partners also will develop incentive packages for cities, businesses and transportation hubs to open local charging stations. The group plans to coordinate the $108 million allocated to them under a $2 billion settlement stemming from Volkswagen AG’s diesel emissions cheating scandal. Utilities in the region are developing plans to apply an additional $200 million to the effort.