Cuomo signs into law Metzger-sponsored bill
A bill sponsored by state Sen. Jen Metzger to identify areas where electric vehicle infrastructure is insufficient is signed into law.
A proposal requiring the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to identify areas where electric vehicle infrastructure is insufficient has been signed into law.
The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Jen Metzger, DRosendale, is an attempt to get more people to drive electric vehicles, thereby helping to achieve a 40 percent reduction of carbon emissions by 2030. It is a target set by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, signed into law in July of this year.
“Electric vehicles are cheaper to maintain and operate than gas-powered vehicles and provide a huge opportunity for New York State to significantly reduce carbon emissions,” Metzger, who drives an electric vehicle, said in a press release. “I’m thrilled that this bill will help the state take the necessary steps forward in increasing (electric vehicle) accessibility.
“When we passed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act this year, we set ambitious but absolutely essential targets to address the climate crisis, and I will continue to advance legislation that will help us meet those goals, including legislation to propel clean transportation forward in New York.”
Metzger says that, in
New York, the number of electric vehicles on the road has increased by almost 63 percent in one year, a jump from 24,551 in 2017 to 36,854 in 2018. “New York, however, is not one of the top ten EV-ownership states and will need to significantly increase ownership in order to meet the state’s goal of getting approximately two million EVs on the road,” the release said.
There are more than 10 million registered vehicles in New York state, but less than 1 percent are electric vehicles, according to the release. Range anxiety, or the concern that the vehicles will lose their charge in an “area with few publicly available chargers, remains a significant impediment to their widespread adoption,” it added.
“While there have been ambitious efforts by the State to increase the availability of electric vehicle charging stations on thruways and at airports, New York still lacks the critical mass of charging stations to make an electric vehicle a realistic option for every New Yorker,” Metzger’s office said. “Creating an inventory of all the charging stations and EV infrastructure in New York will enable state agencies to identify areas where the EV infrastructure is insufficient and leverage that information to benefit the environmental health of New York State.”