Idaho Falls Power moving forward with opening EV charging stations

IDAHO FALLS (Idaho Capital Sun) — Thanks to fast-tracking their project, officials with Idaho Falls Power are moving forward with building new electric vehicle charging stations at a time when work on many other federally-funded EV charging programs has been put on hold.

Idaho Falls Power officials say they are on track to receive a shipment of electric vehicle charging equipment as soon as this week and plan to open the first of four EV charging stations this fall.

The majority of the funding for the $3.75 million project comes from a federal U.S. Department of Transportation Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program corridor grant that Idaho Falls Power applied for in 2023.

Idaho Falls Power officials received word they were selected for the grant in early 2024 and immediately began working to get the grant agreement signed, get the project under contract and begin designing the charging sites.

“We were working as fast as we could to get through this because we knew there could be a new (presidential) administration coming up at the end of year, so we wanted to get the agreement signed as quickly as possible,” Idaho Falls Power Chief Financial Officer Josh Roos said in a phone interview Tuesday.

Idaho Falls Power worked hard to get electric vehicle stations agreement signed

Being able to develop the sites on city-owned land saved time and avoided additional expenses for land acquisition.

“Once we had it signed, the new administration put a pause on everything and we were afraid we would not get it,” Roos said. “But in working with the Federal Highway Administration, since we were able to get an agreement signed beforehand and all ready to go, we were still good to move forward. A majority of people who received grant funding didn’t get it signed in time. So we feel pretty lucky to be one of few to be able to move forward with a project.”

That means Idaho Falls Power is able to move forward with its project at time when the state of Idaho has paused all work on a related, but separate program – the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure, or NEVI program – that had been seeking to develop a connected network of electric vehicle charging stations situated every 50 miles of interstate highway. State officials paused work on the NEVI program in February after Federal Highway Administration officials rescinded all previous guidance for the NEVI program and suspended approving state plans.

Funding for both the NEVI and Charging and Fuel Infrastructure Grant Program grants was provided by the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act signed into law by former President Joe Biden.

First Idaho Falls Power EV charging station scheduled to open this fall near Snake River

Idaho Falls Power is a municipally owned electric utility that owns hydropower plants and serves the city of Idaho Falls in eastern Idaho.

The grant provides just over $3 million for the charging stations, while Idaho Falls Power is responsible for a cost share of $750,714, Roos said.

The first charging site will be located on Memorial Drive in Idaho Falls, near downtown and the Idaho Falls River Walk along the Snake River. Idaho Falls Power also plans to open three additional electric vehicle charging sites on city-owned property during next spring or summer. Idaho Falls Power External Affairs Manager Sarah Wheeler said.

Each of the four sites will feature four fast-charging stalls and be located within one mile of a major highway off-ramp, said Reese Lawley, a U.S. Department of Energy research fellow who helped with the Idaho Falls Power grant.

Wheeler and Roos said eastern Idaho doesn’t have as high of a rate of EV drivers as other areas and states like California, Oregon or Washington. But the Idaho Falls Power officials said they are seeing more EV and plug-in hybrid drivers and have seen an increase in public interest after Idaho Falls Power installed charging stations at its office and outside of Idaho Falls City Hall.

There is also an economic development piece to the EV charging program. Wheeler and Roos know the Interstate 15 and U.S. Highway 20 corridors are busy with summer tourists heading to Yellowstone National Park and winter tourists flocking to nearby ski resorts.

By building out electric vehicle charging stations and locating them near Idaho Falls downtown district and River Walk, officials hope more tourists driving EVs and plug-in hybrids will stop to charge up in Idaho Falls and will support local businesses or enjoy a scenic stroll along the Snake River while they wait.

“It’s really impressive to watch how they looked at grant opportunities and where growth is happening and where new resources need to be put and capitalized on that,” Wheeler said. “Not everyone drives electric vehicles, but we are still a transportation corridor where we want to provide services to not only residents, but people visiting our city as well.”