If the council really wants to look at the big picture of an EV mandate, then other stakeholders and experts need to be added to this commission to tell the whole story including people from our industry, small businesses, fire suppression experts, transportation experts and engineers.
A public hearing will be held today, March 13 at 10 a.m. in room 2E of the Legislative Office Building regarding H.B. 5485. The bill creates an “Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Coordinating Council” tasked with a zero-emission vehicle roadmap.
To watch hearing live, click link below:
https://www.youtube.com/@cga…/streams
Statement from Chris Herb, President and CEO of CEMA:
“If this truly is a council to look at the pros and cons of an EV-only future, then we deserve a seat at the table, as do all stakeholders impacted by this. Right now, the council is stacked with people in favor of EVs including environmentalist, elected officials, and bureaucrats who will do what the administration tells them to do.
“From our standpoint, no one understands the distribution of fuel better than us, and how people get from point A to point B. Our gas stations are strategically located at the highest traffic points in every community in the state of Connecticut and that didn’t happen by mistake. We know where people need to obtain fuel and/or charge their vehicles to get where they’re going. By putting only PhDs and environmental scientists on the commission, they’re stacking the deck and going forward with blinders on. If this council does happen then it needs to be modified to tell the whole story, so the state can make the right decision.”
We believe other experts needed on this council:
- Association with experience in fire suppression
- Association representing specialty trucks – (Vehicles that need after-market modifications to perform their purpose like handicap vans, etc.)
- Association representing businesses that use medium and light-duty vehicles
- Association representing electric generators
- Association representing retail energy marketers
- Representative from our regional grid operator ISO-New England
CEMA is also imploring lawmakers to do an in-depth analysis on the following:
Cost to ratepayers:
- How many transmission lines would need to be replaced to transport power to all these new EVs, and what would this cost ratepayers?
- How many neighborhoods would need to be upgraded with new transformers to accommodate the increased electric demand and at what cost?
- How much will it cost to build the all the wind and solar generation needed to meet zero-emissions for electric generation?
- How much will it cost homeowners to install chargers at their homes to power EVs?
Safety issues:
- Would Connecticut roads and bridges need to be upgraded to deal with heavier loads due to the heavier EV batteries weight?
- Could our roads and bridges handle the increased weight?
- Would guardrails need to be rebuilt? The current guardrails are not strong enough to stop a heavier EV from crashing through it.