Gas stations vs utilities: battle for the future of charging

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The age of the electric vehicle is coming, and it’s going to transform more than just the auto industry. EVs are also set to remake the fueling industry. But who will own the electric charging future?

That is the question that journalist David Ferris, reporter for POLITICO’s E&E news, started asking himself a couple years ago. When he started to look into it, he found a simmering tension that is turning into an all-out clash between two pillars of the American energy economy: the electric utility and the gas station.

For over a century, gas stations have been a prominent feature of our car-centric landscape. Meanwhile, the provision of electricity has long been the domain of utilities. The EV is bringing these two titans of the energy industry into conflict for the first time, and the battle over who will sell those electrons is already starting to get nasty. 

You can read Ferris’ story on the contested future of EV charging here.