Backroom Briefing: EV Disconnect
TALLAHASSEE — Wawa, Buc-ee’s and Busy Bee have come together over the slow rollout by Florida and about a dozen other states of a federally funded electric-vehicle charging stations program.
Introduced three years ago, the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure, or NEVI, program allows chargers to be built by private entities, if the owners put up a 20 percent match.
But Florida is among states that have not issued requests for proposals on the charging program, according to a report by Route Fifty, a sister publication of The News Service of Florida. Both are part of the GovExec media company.
Wawa, Buc-ee’s and Busy Bee are part of a national organization known as the Charge Ahead Partnership, which seeks to expand the electric-vehicle charging network.
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“Florida has countless businesses that would love to use NEVI funds to help build out the state’s EV charging infrastructure, the same way that businesses in other states are,” Charge Ahead Partnership Executive Director Jay Smith said in a June statement. “It’s unfortunate that the state has still not issued an application for funds, while states like Ohio are opening NEVI-funded chargers.”
The federal match program is seen as a way for businesses to compete with power companies in operating charging stations, according to the Route Fifty report.
Loren McDonald, CEO of EVAdoption, which provides data and forecasts on the electric-vehicle industry, said the delay is a concern for convenience stores that offer fuel pumps.
“In some cases, they haven’t prioritized it. In some states, they don’t have the expertise in charging,” McDonald said, according to the Route Fifty report. “In a few cases, it’s hard to tell if politics are involved or if they’re just moving slowly, trying to cross the t’s and dot the i’s.”
Florida has the second-most electric vehicles in the country, but Gov. Ron DeSantis has routinely criticized the Biden administration and the infrastructure law for imposing ideology on states.
Michael Williams, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Transportation, said in an email to Route Fifty that the federal government updated its regulations governing the charging program in June.
“As this is a newly created program with many requirements, it is important that FDOT completes our due diligence to ensure we are effectively planning the proper use of taxpayer dollars, especially as we have already seen individual projects delivered under this program costing millions of dollars,” Williams wrote. “As custom department practice, FDOT takes a thoughtful and strategic approach to all programs and projects we develop, including researching best practices and exploring innovative opportunities.”
BACK AND FORTH
With just over a month remaining until the Nov. 5 election, Democrats and Republicans continue to debate whether Florida is “in play” on the national political map.
Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried on Monday announced national help was headed to Florida for Democrats.
The Democratic National Committee provided an additional $400,000 to the state party, bringing the total to over $1 million in this election cycle, according to Fried. The money will go toward volunteers “knocking on doors” and text messages.
Also, Fried said the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee will run a multimillion-dollar TV campaign in Florida to help Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell’s campaign to unseat U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla. And the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has added Congressional District 13 to its “Red To Blue” campaign aimed at flipping seats.
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Democrat Whitney Fox is taking on U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., in the Republican-leaning District 13 in Pinellas County.
“All of this comes after the Harris-Walz campaign has built a true battleground infrastructure here in our state, giving us a fighting chance to secure those 30 electoral votes this November,” Fried said. “Democrats nationwide are waking up to a new reality in the South: Florida is in play.”
Republican Party of Florida Chairman Evan Power quickly described the national Democratic efforts as throwing “more good money after bad in Florida.”
“No amount of New York and California farm money will be able to cover for the fact that Mucarsel-Powell is unknown in many of Florida’s counties because she rarely ventures outside of big cities,” Power said in a statement. “Sen. Scott has visited all 67 counties and knows the local leaders Florida voters trust. Florida voters will turn out to reject the failed policies Democrats have forced our nation to endure over the last four years.”
SOCIAL MEDIA POST OF THE WEEK: “Randy Fine is not allowed to stay mad, per court order.” — DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern (@JeremyRedfernFL) after a Brevard County judge found state Rep. Randy Fine, R-Brevard County, in contempt of court for making obscene gestures during a virtual hearing. Fine was also ordered to take an anger management course.
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