New Hampshire’s Department of Transportation is suspending activities on a state program to build electric vehicle chargers, after a memo from federal officials announced no new funding would be approved until they conduct a review of the program.
This comes amid several efforts by the Trump Administration to reverse course on climate and energy funding.
The state was set to receive about $17 million from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, part of the Biden-era Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The funding was meant to help New Hampshire build a network of public charging stations.
“The number of electric vehicles (EV) registered within the state has consistently grown and comprehensive EV infrastructure will support travel throughout the state of New Hampshire as well as from other states,” state officials said in their original plan.
The memo from the Federal Highway Administration sent out Feb. 6 rescinded the current guidelines for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program and said that no new funding obligations would be approved until new program guidance was issued and states submitted new plans using that guidance.
Federal officials said they expect to have a draft of the new guidance by the spring.
Jennifer Lane, a communications officer with the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, said Wednesday afternoon that the agency is suspending activities under that program except for those related to the first phase of the project, which involves building four charging stations, according to a report published in September 2024.
New Hampshire has already been obligated $4.5 million, and the Federal Highway Administration said reimbursement of existing obligations would be allowed to continue.
Some of that $4.5 million has already been used, and the rest should be available for constructing the four charging stations. Those appear to be planned for locations in Tilton, North Woodstock, Sanbornville and Rochester.
The remaining $12.5 million, however, is paused.
“Further requests to obligate any additional funding under the NEVI formula funds would be rejected,” Lane said.
Transportation department officials did not immediately respond to questions about whether any state employees would be affected by the suspension or the status of construction on the planned charging stations.
