An official told Reuters that Washington state would require electric vehicle charging providers to integrate Tesla’s connector if they want to participate in a federally funded highway electrification scheme.
Washington’s mandate of Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) follows Texas’s, bolstering CEO Elon Musk’s goal of making it the national charging standard.
G.M. (GM.N), Ford (F.N.), and Rivan (RIVN.O) have announced they will adopt Tesla’s NACS, rejecting the Biden administration’s efforts to make the Combined Charging System (CCS) the U.S. charging standard.
I’m glad NACS is bringing automakers together. Tonia Buell, alternative fuels program manager at Washington State’s Department of Transportation, said, “We want to provide access to as many makes and models as possible.”
“It hasn’t necessarily been tested and certified for other auto manufacturers, so we want to make sure it’s going to work but we are planning to require NACS at our state funded and federally funded sites in the future.”
In the fall, the state will issue calls for proposals. “Future-proofing” the state’s investments was Buell’s rationale.
Based on federal standards, Buell said state authorities are still determining the correct combination of NACS chargers. Each taxpayer-funded site must have at least four CCS chargers, and Buell said the state might need two or all four to function with NACS.
Washington’s strategy may encourage other states and the federal government to embrace Tesla’s NACS.
