Written by by News Staff at nbc16.com
SALEM, Ore. — Electric vehicle drivers throughout Oregon will have a more reliable public charging experience over the next few years thanks to a federal grant program sending $10 million to Oregon for public EV charger repairs and station upgrades, Oregon Dept. of Transportation said.
The $10 million grant will repair broken EV charging ports at public EV charging stations throughout the state. The funding can also be used to install more Level 2 or DC fast charging ports at project sites.
The ODOT Climate Office will oversee the grant fund distribution in Oregon, the agency said.
“Given this is a new federal grant program, we’re still working on the best, most efficient way to distribute the funds and how to engage the private sector,” ODOT stated in a media release. “The charging stations are owned by private companies, so we’ll work with them to repair broken charging ports and upgrade stations.”
Per federal rules, private companies are required to contribute 20% matching funds in order to receive grant funding, the agency said.
“We expect charging port repair and station upgrade projects to start by the end of 2024,” ODOT stated.
The grant comes from the federal Electric Vehicle Charger Reliability and Accessibility Accelerator program. It’s part of the $5 billion investment in public EV charging nationwide from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and overseen by the Federal Highway Administration.
ODOT was among 24 grant recipients in 20 states, and one of the 14 state DOTs to receive funding.