Updated July 26 to add third public hearing and how to submit written comments!

Last year’s climate law in Massachusetts set up an Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Coordinating Council (EVICC) that has been meeting since the spring to prepare a report on the Commonwealth’s electric vehicle (EV) charging needs. This month, EVICC is hosting three public hearings for residents to share their experiences and inviting written public comment.

What is EVICC? 

EVICC is a new interagency council tasked with assessing the state of EV charging in Massachusetts today and making a plan to build out the charging we need to replace 900,000 of the gas-powered cars in Massachusetts with electric cars by 2030, as called for in the state’s Clean Energy & Climate Plan. Specifically, EVICC is to make recommendations to ensure that Massachusetts creates an “equitable, interconnected, accessible, and reliable electric vehicle charging network.” The council is made up of representatives from lots of different state agencies: the Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs, the Department of Energy Resources, the Department of Transportation, the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, the Department of Public Utilities, the Department of Environmental Protection, the MBTA, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, and Senator Barrett and Representative Roy.  

EVICC has been meeting since May and is working on a report due back to the Legislature in August. EVICC meetings are public and Green Energy Consumers has attended every one so far and contributed comments on the experience of EV drivers in our network. Ultimately, EVICC will inform how the state spends $50 million dedicated to EV charging in last year's economic development bill too. You can learn more about EVICC and read the minutes from its previous meetings here. 

What are these hearings? 

EVICC will be holding three upcoming public hearings to gather feedback from residents across Massachusetts.

The notice for these hearings states that these public hearings will cover:  

1. “The work, goals, and deliverables of the Council;
2. Barriers consumers are facing to adoption of EV charging stations; 
3. Additional information consumers are seeking” 

 Specifically, Council members are looking for feedback on the following questions:  

• How does the availability of electric vehicle charging infrastructure impact your decision-making and/or buyer behavior? 
• What would help to improve your electric vehicle driving experience? 
• What challenges, if any, do you see with the reliability and cost of electric vehicle charging stations? 
• Where would you like to see electric vehicle charging locations? 

Whether or not you currently drive electric, we encourage you to attend and share your experience! 

Submit written comments

Can't make it to any of the hearings? Submit written comments by emailing Daniel.Gatti@mass.gov by Friday, August 4^th. The subject line should read “Public Comment for EVICC” and the body of the email should address the questions above.

Fitting this into the big picture 

The Massachusetts Clean Energy & Climate Plan for 2030 says we need 900,000 EVs and 75,000 public charging stations by 2030 in order to meet the statutory requirement to reduce economy-wide greenhouse gases 50% by 2030. Right now, Massachusetts has 2,567 locations with 5,963 ports, according to the Alternative Fuels Data Center. Clearly, we’ve got a ways to go! The new tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act and the new utility incentive programs in Massachusetts will help, but to reach this goal – and to make sure that everyone has access to reliable charging – Massachusetts will need careful and intentional planning. EVICC is a step in that direction and they need to hear from you!