National Grid’s EV Road Trip Includes $200 Million for EV Charging

National Grid multinational electricity and gas utility company headquartered in England, serving through its networks in New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, has revealed its new EV (electric vehicle) Road Trip.

This new EV road trip emerged as a part of Grid’s constant efforts to raise awareness around the location of charging infrastructure and accelerate the adoption of EVs across New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. It includes an online guide to tourist spots in the Northeast and ways to see them sustainably and conveniently in an EV.

As a key partner of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-26), National Grid extending this initiative to expand clean energy adoption across the Northeast, which includes a big investment of USD 200 million for deploying around 19,000 EV charging stations. These new charging stations will help lower charging costs, support fleets to develop electrification road maps and install charging, as well as promoting general EV awareness.

Speaking of the new initiative, the US President of National Grid, Badar Khan commented, “With so many of our customers planning to travel this summer, we are encouraging both safety and sustainability.”

“Traveling by EV is one way to explore the Northeast while emitting less carbon. The Road Trip is designed to demonstrate the availability of charging infrastructure so that we can reduce range anxiety and encourage more people to drive electric,” Khan added.

This new EV road trip comes in the wake of a new report from the International Energy Agency noting that, while the technology to achieve reductions in emissions exists, it has not been deployed fast enough. This issue is most apparent in transportation, the nation’s largest source of emissions. Despite advocacy from the Biden Administration and the introduction of more EV models, research shows consumers remain concerned over weak charging infrastructure.

In the process to make it a successful initiative, National Grid has partnered with cities to add more electric buses for schools and commuters across the National Grid service territory. Additionally, National Grid recently joined the Electric Highway Coalition, which will further enable access to charging stations near highways across the US.

Interestingly, the company claims of setting a target to electrify its light-duty vehicle fleet 100 percent by 2030 and has already invested in electrifying its field equipment.