HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2813        FILED ON: 1/19/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3218

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Jeffrey N. Roy

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act to promote transportation electrification infrastructure.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2813        FILED ON: 1/19/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3218

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act to promote transportation electrification infrastructure.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Section 53 of Chapter 179 of the Acts of 2022 is hereby amended by inserting the following section after section 92C:-

Section 92D. (a) Specific to achieving clause v of subsection a of section 92B, notwithstanding any other requirements of Sections 92B or 92C, and building on the Massachusetts executive office of energy and environmental affairs intergovernmental coordinating council EV deployment plan to be published in August 2023 and the electric distribution company electric sector modernization plans to be filed by January 2024, the department of energy resources and Massachusetts department of transportation, in consultation with each EDC, shall forecast EV charging demand through 2045 along highways and major roadways and identify sites to create a statewide network of fast charging hubs along Massachusetts highways and major roadways. By no later than two years following enactment of this legislation, each electric distribution company shall submit plans for implementation of transmission and distribution system build necessary to accommodate the charging network, and the department of public utilities shall approve the plans, if deemed reasonable. 

(b) The department of energy resources and Massachusetts department of transportation, in consultation with each electric distribution company, by no later than six months following enactment of this legislation, shall complete a study to forecast the 2045 electric demand from electric light-duty vehicle and medium- and heavy-duty vehicle charging at service plazas and other locations along Massachusetts highways and major roadways, based on current traffic patterns and expected adoption of EVs to meet the Massachusetts 2045 climate goals. 

(c) Within six months of, and based on the 2045 electric charging demand determined Section 92D. (b), the department of energy resources, Massachusetts department of transportation, and the electric distribution companies shall identify optimal sites along or near Massachusetts highways and major roadways in each electric distribution company service territory, which are suitable to host electric vehicle fast charging hubs to create a statewide network and meet the anticipated demand in 2045. Identification of such priority sites for electric vehicle fast charging stations should include, but not be limited to, consideration of the following: (i) ease of access for both consumer and commercial electric vehicles; (ii) cost-effective and efficient use of existing electric company infrastructure and rights-of-way; (iii) land use feasibility; and (iv) potential ability to qualify for public funds, including, but not limited to, those funds made available under the Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) signed into U.S. Law in 2021.

(d) Upon identification of such electric vehicle fast charging hub sites, each electric distribution company shall develop a plan to proactively design and build the additional transmission and/or distribution infrastructure investments necessary on its system to satisfy, at a minimum, the year 2045 projected charging demand at the applicable sites. The associated infrastructure investments shall also be designed to accommodate any additional projected future needs for the area identified by the electric distribution company. 

(e) Within six months of identification of electric vehicle fast charging hub sites, each electric distribution company shall submit to the department of public utilities its plan for the additional infrastructure investments required for the identified electric vehicle fast charging hub sites. The department of public utilities shall promptly consider the plan, and if it finds the plan to be a reasonable approach to accommodate the increased transportation electrification necessary to facilitate achievement of the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limits under chapter 21N, shall approve the plan.   Each electric distribution company shall be entitled to full cost recovery of all charges for the infrastructure investments resulting from the plan, whether such charges are associated with the costs of distribution facility investments or transmission facility investments governed by rates filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.