Regulatory Potholes Loom For Expanding Electric Fleet

Energy attorney Stephen Humes was quoted in a Law360 article about the regulatory issues that need to be addressed in order to accelerate electric vehicle (EV) deployment in the U.S. Plenty of recent groundwork has been laid for getting more electric vehicles on the road, but solid regulatory frameworks for EV infrastructure must still be erected in order to kick electrification efforts into high gear. One of the issues that needs to be addressed is charging infrastructure reliability and interoperability. Reliable charging infrastructure also means infrastructure that allows any type of vehicle to plug in. For example, electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Inc. has built a worldwide network of fast-charging stations, but they currently can only be used by Tesla drivers. Mr. Humes pointed out that several states are advancing policies that allow utilities to help build charging infrastructure and earn ratepayer returns as long as the infrastructure can be used by all EV models.

"We're moving in the direction where it's just like gas stations," said Mr. Humes. "You can't have a fleet of gas stations that are only going to power certain vehicles."

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