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When West Philadelphia resident Tung Vu bought an electric Hyundai three years ago, he relied on a public charger located in the parking lot of a South Philadelphia strip mall. But over time, more people started using the charger, and he found himself waiting in line to plug in — even at 6 a.m.
“Eventually, I had to get a charger in my driveway,” Vu said.
A new round of electric vehicle charging station funding announced by the state of Pennsylvania on Wednesday promises to make experiences like Vu’s less common.
The state Department of Transportation awarded grants totalling $37 million to 71 companies and local governments in Philadelphia as well as Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware and Chester counties. The grant recipients will install around 515 new charging ports in shopping centers, at apartment buildings and along streets.
The planned stations will expand the number of public charging ports in these counties by about 27%, from the current total of close to 1,900, according to PennDOT. In Philadelphia alone, the increase will be 53%.
The funding comes from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, established under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Prior to Wednesday’s announcement, Pennsylvania had already distributed $58.4 million of this funding for 88 projects across the state that are in various stages of planning, construction and operation. PennDOT officials say, with 54 of these charging stations up and running, more chargers have been built using this federal funding in Pennsylvania than in any other state.
