A Dirty Detour: How Industry Pushback Puts EV Infrastructure At Risk

We need electric trucks to clean the air in local communities and to cut health harming and climate pollution from one of the largest contributors: heavy-duty vehicles. These trucks require reliable electricity to operate, which demands investment in EV charging and electric grid infrastructure in strategic locations. Recently, truck manufacturers pledged to work with electric utilities to make this happen. But at the same time, many of these same manufacturers and their allies are undermining the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule-one of the policies helping to bring more supply of zero-emission vehicles to states, while also providing the market stability utilities need to make long-term grid investments required to support electric trucks. This approach risks creating a self-fulfilling prophecy where complaints about limited charging and grid infrastructure delay the very investments needed to build it.

The Importance of Market Certainty for Utility Investments

Utilities and their state regulators are inherently cautious. To move forward with grid upgrades near ports, warehouses, and along freight corridors, utilities need consistent policy signals. When states adopt policies like ACT, they send a strong message that zero-emission trucks are the future, aligning manufacturers' and utilities' long-term plans with climate and public health standards. ACT sets clear targets for ZEV adoption through a planned, phased approach, allowing utilities to plan strategically for grid improvements needed to support widespread transportation electrification.

Unfortunately, manufacturers are misleading the dealers that sell their vehicles by claiming that the ACT forces them to push electric models over cleaner diesel options, creating an illusion that ACT is limiting supply. This is not what the rule does. This tactic stirs opposition by suggesting these regulations restrict choices, even though the rule provides flexibility for vehicle electrification without mandating such business practices.

When manufacturers undermine ACT in this way, they create regulatory uncertainty that makes it harder for utilities to justify their investments. Utilities face complex planning and regulatory processes, and if market signals aren't stable, they are likely to hesitate in committing resources to support ZEV adoption at scale. California recently adopted deadlines requiring utilities to connect EV chargers to the grid, an important step to ensure that infrastructure is ready when it's needed. But to continue these efforts, utilities need to know that the market for electric trucks will grow consistently - something ACT provides.

Truck manufacturers have voiced frustration over the energization delays and denials from utilities regarding the approval of grid upgrades to support ZEV deployment. To address these challenges, manufacturers need to stop the tactics that are working against the very standards that provide the stability upon which utilities rely to plan for the future.

The Need to Align on Solutions

Truck manufacturers' conflicting actions create unnecessary regulatory uncertainty. On one hand, they are calling for swift infrastructure expansion, while on the other, they are lobbying to weaken ACT and other standards that provide the regulatory confidence that utilities and their regulators need. If manufacturers are serious about deploying electric trucks at scale, they should make good on their promise to work with utilities and double down on collaborative efforts to address real-world challenges in deploying charging stations and grid infrastructure. The electric industry has the technical expertise and engineering resources to overcome these challenges - if given consistent policy targets.

These challenges are fundamentally engineering problems - not insurmountable barriers. Utility planners and engineers can design and execute effective solutions to manage the high-power demand charging infrastructure to support heavy-duty trucks and fleets. But political tactics and mixed signals disrupt this progress and risk derailing efforts to create a clean transportation future.

The Public Health and Climate Stakes

The stakes for not electrifying trucks are high. Diesel trucks are a significant source of air pollution, contributing to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, especially in communities near major freight hubs. For cities like Los Angeles, Newark, and Chicago, electric trucks mean cleaner air, reduced healthcare costs, and improved quality of life. Electrifying trucks also offers substantial climate benefits: an electric truck using electricity from Colorado's grid, for example, emits far less carbon pollution per mile than a diesel truck, even before the grid is fully decarbonized. And as more renewable energy powers the grid, the climate benefits of electric trucks will only grow.

This transition is more than a regulatory target; it's an urgent public health, air quality, and climate necessity. Communities along transportation corridors already face some of the worst air quality in the country, and delaying this shift prolongs their exposure to harmful diesel emissions. The ACT rule and similar policies set the stage for a comprehensive solution by creating a stable, predictable environment for ZEVs that utilities, manufacturers, and fleet operators can rely on.

A Call for Consistency and Action

It's time for truck manufacturers to align their actions with their public commitments. If manufacturers truly want to see more "yes" from utilities for investments, they need to stop undermining ACT and instead focus on solutions to overcome engineering and logistical challenges such as scaling depot charging and planning grid upgrades. By doing so, they support the stability utilities need to move forward and ensure that charging infrastructure keeps pace with ZEV deployment.

Ultimately, ACT and similar standards are about more than just vehicle sales quotas - they're about creating a reliable path to zero-emission transportation. Stable policies like ACT allow states to reduce emissions, improve public health, and meet climate goals. For communities impacted by freight emissions and for a planet facing a climate crisis, the stakes are too high for mixed signals. It's time for truck manufacturers to honor their commitment to clean transportation, stop the tactics to undermine regulatory certainty, and work in good faith with utilities to build a sustainable, zero-emission future.

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