Saturday, November 2, 2024

Utilities, PSC “proactively proposing grid infrastructure” to prepare for electric fleets

Must read

Starting in 2025, New York is mandating the sale of an increasing number of electric heavy-duty trucks by manufacturers year over year. Industry leaders, and now politicians on both sides of the aisle say the infrastructure isn’t in place to facilitate the transition.

The DEC says historic investments have been made in EV chargers to keep up with demand, but now some are also questioning the electric grid’s capacity to keep up with charging several 18-wheelers at once.

“There’s another large issue brewing in this whole transition, is that utility companies are having a very difficult time providing the capacity to actually have these charging stations,” Democrat Assemblyman John McDonald said.

National Grid says fleets of all sizes should engage with them to help facilitate this process, but also told CBS6 they have the supply currently to meet the needs of fleets in the short term future.

As for the long-term, they point to the “Upstate Upgrade” investment in expanding transmission capacity and reliability.

“For the first time, National Grid and other state utilities will be proactively proposing grid infrastructure to prepare for electric fleets,” a National Grid spokesperson says.

The State’s Public Service Commission is part of this process. They “Make-Ready” EV program launched in November of 2023, increasing funding with the goal of expanding fast-charging stations from 1500 to 6302.

Their latest update of charging sites, shared on Friday, shows six more potential sites to be used in the State. So far, these dozens of new chargers in the last few years are on the lower end of what heavy-duty trucks would require for fast charging.

This is a key facet of moving forward with the ACT regulations, but trucking industry leaders say locations need to be reviewed, and implemented, before compliance is expected.

“The study that the PSC is doing to identify where we should be focusing our efforts, because it is a huge undertaking,” Truckers Association of New York President Kendra Hems says. “We don’t want to put charging where it’s not going to be utilized. So it has to be done strategically.”

But, that will take time, as its an 18-month study, which has lawmakers looking at other clean solutions.

“We need to start thinking about what can we do in the interim to lower emissions,” Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner (D), says. “Shifting the rule to include clean diesel, a bio fuel alternative, is one way to both stay on course with our goal and yet be responsive to the conditions on the ground.”

Latest article