Study finds that a rapid buildout of an EV charging infrastructure, looking just at new distribution and transmission investments to support EVs making up only 10 percent of the vehicles on the road in the U.S., could cost as much as $146 billion. Further, if this buildout is funded by the utilities, these costs would be passed along to their customers through rate increases, regardless of whether they own EVs.

The study examined three separate scenarios based on varying EV adoption projections:

• 8.4 million light-duty EVs on the road by 2030;
• 18 million EVs on the road by 2030; and
• 30 million EVs on the road by 2030 (**represents approximately 10 percent of the U.S. vehicle fleet).

These scenarios are based on the Annual Energy Outlook 2020, 100 percent EV sales by 2050, and 100 percent EV sales by 2035, respectively. Costs associated with each scenario range from $35.4 billion to $146.2 billion, all borne by utility ratepayers.