Connecticut Unveils Draft Roadmap to Create Self-Sustaining Electric Vehicle Market

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection on Oct. 16 released a draft plan, identifying policies, programs, and strategies that the state should implement to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles and expand charging infrastructure. The roadmap, which aims to develop a self-sustaining EV market, builds on the state’s prior work with vehicle rebates and charging station grants.

The agency projects that the state will need about 500,000 vehicles converted from internal combustion engines to electric by 2030 to meet its targets of reducing emissions to 45 percent below 2001 levels by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050. The transportation sector accounts for almost 40 percent of the state’s emissions and 70 percent of smog-forming ozone pollution.

The plan recommends integrating charging into grid planning processes and developing rate designs to minimize grid impacts while maximizing charging benefits. The report also calls for preserving vehicle purchasing incentives and establishing a secondary market for used vehicles. Among other strategies, the roadmap calls for a focus on access in underserved communities, enhancing regional coordination to expand consumer awareness, and leveraging available funding to support electrification and charging infrastructure.

The department will conduct a public comment session on Nov. 8, and will take comments on the draft until Nov. 11. Final policy recommendations are expected by early December.