Assemblyman Christian Barranco (R-25) took to the floor of the state Assembly this week to condemn a bill affecting electric vehicle charging stations as unenforceable and unrealistic.
The legislation( A4715) would require the state Board of Public Utilities or any other State agency that issues an incentive payment for construction of EV charging station to require that the charging centers be operational 97 percent of the time.
Barranco, a union electrician who has worked as a project manager on complex electric generating stations, says the mandate is “unrealistic.”

“There is no way that the operator of a charging station at an apartment house or a train station can guarantee the stations are operational 97 percent of the time – simply because the owners do not generate the power to make the stations operational,” said Barranco.

Barranco explained that the companies investing in EV charging stations buy electricity just like everyone else does and are at the mercy of utility companies to provide the power to keep the charging stations working.

“How can they guarantee that the electricity needed for electric vehicles will be there on demand at all times?” asked Barranco, the Assistant Minority Conference Leader. “We are asking them to do the impossible.”

Looking at the bigger picture of electric vehicles and carbon reduction in New Jersey, Barranco said: “If the state wants to get serious about reducing its carbon footprint, then it needs to get realistic about the way electric generating technology works and how people really live,” said Barranco after the floor vote.

“We are not going to get where we want to go with clean energy by imposing unrealistic mandates on businesses and consumers and by passing feel-good legislation that the people will not benefit from,” added Barranco.

See video attached: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeEkY4UYu6Y