In an ongoing lawsuit, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has joined other Democratic governors and attorneys general in an attempt to unfreeze billions of federal money intended for the construction of an electric vehicle charging network across the country.
The Trump administration targeted $5 billion for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program on Inauguration Day this year and froze the funds weeks later. A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction in June ordering the administration to start distributing the funds to 14 states that had brought a lawsuit against the administration.
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Beshear joined the ongoing action in early August, along with other new plaintiffs, such as Democratic Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. Kentucky received $55 million through the program during fiscal years 2022 through 2025, according to the revised complaint filed on August 1. The state has been instantly and permanently denied access to approximately $18 million of that amount.
Hybrid and electric cars are no longer the way of the future. In a statement, Beshear said, “They’re here now, and this technology is only becoming more important for our families and businesses.” Every state, including Kentucky, is able to establish a reliable and trustworthy network of EV charging stations because to the vital funds provided by the NEVI program. Stopping the funds is just wrong and puts us all behind.
On Wednesday, attempts to contact a U.S. Department of Transportation official regarding the new complaint were unsuccessful.
According to the complaint, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has already awarded contracts totaling over $32 million for the construction of 47 EV charging stations.
Although NEVI-funded charger construction has been sluggish nationwide, state officials in September 2024 presented a charger constructed at a petrol station in Richmond, claiming it was the first charger constructed in Kentucky and the Southeastern United States.
This story originally appeared at kentuckylantern.com.
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