Vermont transportation officials report NEVI progress, highlight gaps and equity concerns in fast‑charging network

State transportation officials on Jan. 31 told the House Transportation Committee that Vermont has begun deploying federally supported fast chargers under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program (NEVI), but that federal siting rules, limited funding and uneven access to home charging mean the state will need further investment to meet its climate goals.

Patrick Murphy, State Policy Director at the Agency of Transportation, said the state has awarded projects from its initial NEVI solicitations and is under contract for a subset of sites while preparing additional solicitations. “We built a list of 8 qualified providers in the spring into the summer of this past year,” Murphy said. “From that list, we chose projects in another solicitation for the 14 locations that had not been built out. We received, we awarded, 11 additional locations and we’re under contract for 6 at the moment.”

The NEVI rules limit federal funding to designated alternative‑fuel corridors and set minimum standards: sites generally must be within one mile of an exit, stations no more than 50 miles apart and a minimum of four charging “ports” per site, Murphy said. The state’s recent legislation tightened its own goals to bring chargers deeper into communities —…