Trump's rollback of electric vehicle regulations could lead to a $1 billion expense for taxpayers.

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      Last week, the Trump administration mandated the shutdown of all electric vehicle chargers at federal buildings and the sale of all federal government electric vehicles. This marks a reversal of Biden-era initiatives that invested $300 million in the installation of those chargers and the purchase of those vehicles. Instead of saving the $300 million, reports suggest that this policy reversal could end up costing U.S. taxpayers an additional $1 billion.

      According to Politico’s E&E, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), the agency responsible for government buildings and property, has been ordered to dismantle 654 EV charging stations, which equates to 2,226 charging ports, and sell more than 25,000 government EVs. A GSA employee, who remained anonymous due to restrictions against speaking to the media, informed E&E that the decommissioning of these chargers could incur costs of approximately $50-$100 million. Furthermore, the sale of 25,000 EVs could saturate the market, leading to significant depreciation; the GSA might have to sell them at around 25% of their original value, resulting in an additional loss of $225 million.

      The extra expenses don’t end there. With 25,000 operational vehicles removed from the government’s fleet, replacements will be necessary, which is anticipated to cost another $700 million. When you add up all these expenses—the $700 million for new vehicles, the $225 million depreciation loss, and the $100 million for decommissioning chargers—the total amounts to approximately $1.025 billion. This figure does not account for the $300 million already invested in the charging infrastructure, which is effectively wasted since the chargers will no longer be in use.

      Most of these chargers are located at federal buildings, such as the FBI headquarters and military installations, primarily serving government employees. However, many are accessible to the public at other sites, including federal libraries and museums. This means that not only are government EVs impacted, but ordinary Americans who desire to charge their electric vehicles while visiting government facilities will also face difficulties. Consequently, this situation is not only imposing additional costs on taxpayers but is also complicating life for EV owners.

      Moreover, this decision is expected to incur even higher costs in the future. As noted by InsideEVs, the investment consulting firm ICF estimates that the federal electric vehicle fleet would have cost $6 billion less over the lifespan of the vehicles compared to a traditional combustion fleet. Although the initial purchase price of EVs was higher and included the extra expense of charger installation, they would have resulted in lower costs for fuel and maintenance over time.

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