Kentucky learned this week that the Federal Highway Administration approved the state’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Plan. Transportation Secretary Jim Gray outlined the plan to legislators in July. Kentucky will spend $86.9 million over the next five years to establish an electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure.
The state will receive $10.3 million this year, and legislators allocated $17 million in matching funds during the 2022 Regular Session. The federal government will distribute the remaining money over the next five years. The state’s EV plan calls for four phases of construction.
- Phases 1 and 2 will focus on charging infrastructure along primary interstates and parkways at a combined cost of $38.4 million.
- The Transportation Cabinet has yet to determine the details and costs of phases 3 and 4, but the plan focuses on additional priority highways and community and park charging stations.
See Kentucky’s priority EV corridors here.
Two separate EV fees will take effect on Jan. 1, 2024. Electric vehicle owners will pay $120 a year, and electric motorcycle and hybrid vehicle owners will pay $60. The state will also charge a $0.03 per kilowatt hour excise fee on charging stations. The fee will be $0.06 if the station is on state property.
No EV charges will go into the municipal road aid program, which only receives revenue from the state’s motor fuels tax. City officials continue to urge legislators to review how local road dollars are collected to ensure EV drivers contribute to the maintenance cost of the city streets they drive every day.
“Modernization of the state’s road fund and the funding mechanism used to provide local transportation dollars is critical,” said KLC Director of Public Affairs Bryanna L. Carroll. “We are encouraged to see the legislature address the need for electric vehicle owners to contribute to the maintenance of streets and bridges. It is important that city officials be part of the conversation as the issue continues to be discussed into the 2023 session.”
