National Grid has joined seven major utilities in the Electric Highway Coalition, which will enable more EV charging stations near highways across the US.
Each utility in the Coalition is taking steps to provide charging solutions in its service territories and collaborating to ensure accessibility and reliability.
The effort will support a network of fast-charging stations along major highways from the Atlantic Coast, through the Midwest and South and into the Gulf and Plains regions. Other participating utilities in the Coalition include American Electric Power, Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Entergy Corporation, Eversource, Southern Co and the Tennessee Valley Authority.
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“In the North East, only 2%-3% of all new vehicle sales are electric today,” said National Grid US president, Badar Khan.
“We need 100% of vehicle sales to be electric in the States we serve by 2035 if we are going to reach our ambition of net-zero. That means millions of EVs and the buildout of thousands of chargers. It’s an understatement to say we have a lot of work to do.
“Over the next decade, we will work with other utilities, charging station providers, automakers, policymakers, regulators and our customers to put more EVs and charging stations on our streets.”
National Grid is providing charging ports for the stations across its territories (MA, NY and RI), which is the necessary infrastructure needed to connect the station to the grid. National Grid has already deployed 1,400 charging ports with 16,000 on the way, one of the largest EV charging programmes outside California.
Around 40% of the North East’s GHG emissions are from transportation, making it a larger source of emissions than any other sector. National Grid has committed to electrifying its entire light-duty fleet by 2030 and exploring zero-carbon alternatives for medium and heavy-duty vehicles.
The company is also helping put electric city and school buses on the road and is one of two companies in the US to adopt electric backhoes.
The Electric Highway Coalition will provide DC fast chargers that will allow drivers to charge and be back behind the wheel in up to 30 minutes.
