PSC workgroup backs real-time data, contactless payments and 97% uptime target for publicly facing EV chargers

A Public Service Commission workgroup on electric vehicle charging voted Wednesday to require publicly facing charging stations to make real-time availability information public, to require contactless payment options on publicly funded chargers, to prohibit mandatory membership requirements to access chargers, and to set a 97% annual uptime target for publicly funded EV supply equipment.

The panel’s chair, Ben, said the group will include the decisions in a draft report to be circulated by midweek and asked members to be prepared to review substantive edits next Monday. “My hope is to have that in your hands by Wednesday, Thursday at the latest,” the chair said.

The real-time-data measure (item 7) passed after a debate over scope and timing. Delegate Frater Hidalgo, who argued for broad coverage, said drivers need timely information when planning trips: “If you know that out of those stalls most of them are already full, then you won’t even waste the electrons to go to a facility that’s already booked up,” the delegate said. The workgroup agreed to require real-time availability for all publicly facing chargers and recommended the implementing agency adopt a phase-in plan, suggesting a 2–4 year timeline for implementation.

MDOT representative Amanda urged pragmatic sequencing. “We do recognize that real time availability and potentially real time charging rates will be more difficult to do immediately,” she said, and recommended minimum registration data and accessibility information be made publicly available first while treating live availability as a goal to be phased in for older sites.

On payment methods (items 3–4), MDOT and the PSC supported requiring contactless payment options and accessibility features for publicly funded EVSE installed on or after the date that reporting and uptime compliance begin. Matt Chen, representing an industry participant, noted that national standards have shifted toward contactless cards and readers; “contactless credit cards is the minimum standard,” he said.

The workgroup also adopted language prohibiting operators from requiring customers to hold a paid membership or subscription to start a charge for publicly funded and publicly facing EVSE, while allowing operators to offer optional subscription services. That motion passed with a majority in the chat vote.

The group voted to give the implementing agency authority to consider and develop roaming agreements (item 8) based on legislative policy guidance rather than to mandate a single technical approach. It also authorized the implementing agency to establish training or certification requirements for individuals who install and maintain EV supply equipment, with members stressing the agency should have flexibility to evaluate national standards and appropriate certification levels.

On reliability, the panel adopted an annual average uptime target of 97% for publicly funded chargers, instructing the implementing agency to align uptime measurement with NEVI or other nationally recognized standards and to use rulemaking to set technical measurement details. Chair Ben noted enforcement and reporting would focus on publicly funded chargers while certain reporting obligations would apply to DC fast-charging networks.

Votes at a glance: the workgroup recorded majority votes in favor of the MDOT/PSC edits to items 3–4 (payment methods), the prohibition on mandatory membership for publicly facing chargers (items 5–6), the real-time availability requirement for all publicly facing chargers with a suggested 2–4 year phase-in (item 7), Option 1 on roaming (agency authority; item 8), authority for implementing-agency training standards (item 9), and the 97% uptime standard for publicly funded EVSE (item 16). Formal vote tallies were recorded in the meeting chat but speaker-level vote records were not transcribed in the public meeting text.

The workgroup agreed to keep technology-neutral language on connector types and equipment vintages, focusing regulatory requirements on uptime and reliability rather than mandating a specific connector standard. The report will also summarize how MDOT and the PSC have implemented uptime measurements relative to NEVI and include a suggested flowchart for monitoring in an appendix.

The chair said the draft report incorporating the group’s decisions will be circulated later this week for members’ review and that the full group will reconvene next Monday to walk through edits and aim to file a final report the following Friday.

Public comment was opened and the chair closed the meeting after thanking participants for their work.