EV Charging After the One Big Beauiful Bill

Review LIGHTNING ROUND

Facilitator Mike Austin led the group discussion with a look back at how the EV charging landscape has shifted since the group’s April 2025 meeting. He noted that public fast charging is becoming far more common in his own experience. While there is more availability, performance can still vary, with some stations malfunc- tioning or delivering slower-than-expected speeds. Starting by looking at consumer education and charging perception, Darren Palmer pointed out that Tesla charging is compatible with most, if not all, company networks, giving customers alternatives if they encounter a broken charger. He credited Tesla’s long development timeline and multiple hardware iter- ations for their reliability, contrasting it with first-gen - eration CCS hardware that struggled in extreme temperatures. Palmer added that while reliability is improving across the board, the question of whether customers are getting the full advertised charging speed remains a knowledge gap. He said many drivers “have no idea that they’re getting 50 kilowatts” when they could be charging much faster.

incentives begin to disappear, though the U.S. market remains stable. Palmer suggested there was perhaps a short-term rush: “we saw greater sales than last year” and anticipate growth this month. He warned of uncertain pricing pressures afterward, as companies weigh losses against market share. Srijata Chattopadhyay described how Shell, as an integrated energy company and its independent charging networks, are under pressure “to be profit - able,” identifying the intertwining of macro pressures and political pressures. She reflected on the long arc of infrastructure development, noting that no single administration dramatically changes the overall trajectory, though the pace can vary. While acknowledging the feeling of being at a low point and admitting that Shell itself is undergoing changes, she expressed optimism that EV adoption and charging build-out will continue, even at a temporarily slower rate. To read the full discussion from the April 2025 evVG meeting, read “Vision Report Building Out the EV Charging Network.”

This led into a broader discussion of consumer miscon- ceptions and infrastructure planning. Austin observed that marketing messages often oversell charging speed, and that in reality, drivers don’t always need the highest peak rates to charge efficiently on the road. Tom Healey , operating over 300 Nouria convenience sites, shared that his network has experimented with chargers ranging from 50 to 320 kilowatts (19 charging sites in New England and 5 in their southeast region), but “the typical charge rate is much lower than that.” While high-output chargers are meant to future-proof investments, he questioned whether they are worth the cost now given today’s vehicle capabilities. Jay Smith asked how far ahead Nouria plans when install- ing chargers, and Healey confirmed a ten-year lifecy - cle target. Palmer weighed in that predicting needs even five years ahead is tricky, especially as smaller, more affordable EVs with modest batteries and slower charge rates are expected to grow in popularity. On the topic of market trends and the role of incen- tives. Austin mentioned cooling sales growth as EV