#ev charging

The General Services Administration, the agency that manages buildings owned by the federal government, is planning to shut down its entire network of electric vehicle chargers, according to a report in The Verge. The GSA reportedly operates a network of hundreds of EV chargers with a total of 8,000 plugs that can be used to charge vehicles owned by the government and by federal employees. A source told The Verge that federal workers will receive guidance next week to shut those chargers down, with some regional offices already told to take their chargers offline. Earlier this week, Colorado Public Radio obtained an internal email stating that charging stations at the Denver Federal Center would be shut down, as they are “not mission critical.”

Felix Rubanda (photo) is a Rwandan tech entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Feru Energy, a startup specializing in e-mobility infrastructure across Africa.

Founded in 2022, Feru Energy aims to develop and deploy affordable and reliable e-mobility solutions for businesses and electric vehicle (EV) drivers on the continent. One of its key innovations is SafariCharger, a comprehensive charging optimization solution for electric vehicles.

SafariCharger includes a Charging Station Management System (CSMS) designed for infrastructure operators, as well as a mobile app. The CSMS provides real-time monitoring and analysis, offering detailed insights on charger usage to help operators optimize their charging networks.

The General Services Administration (GSA), an agency that manages the federal government’s buildings, is planning to shut down all 8,000 of its electric vehicle chargers, The Verge reports.

The GSA is also expected to offload its current stock of EVs, though it's unknown if the vehicles will be sold or put into storage. The agency will reportedly begin instructing employees to remove the chargers—which are used for both federally owned EVs and employees' personal vehicles—as early as next week.

The agency informed employees at one regional office that, in its efforts "to align with the current administration," it had received direction stating that all GSA-owned charging stations "are not mission-critical," according to an email first reported by Colorado Public Radio.

“The GSA is working on the timing of canceling current network contracts that keep the EV chargers operational. Once those contracts are canceled, the stations will be taken out of service and ‘turned off at the breaker,’” the email continued. “Other chargers will be turned off starting next week.”

The web page dedicated to the electrification of the GSA's fleet has also been taken offline, The Verge notes.

The GSA had been rapidly electrifying its fleet following the Biden administration's 2021 executive order that calls for 100% of all federal fleet purchases to be zero-emission by 2035.

The news comes amid broader cuts to plans for a nationwide EV charging networks and measures to block the federal government from buying more electric vehicles.

In January, President Donald Trump froze funds earmarked by the Biden administration for a nationwide EV charging network and revoked former President Biden's 2021 executive order setting targets for EVs and emissions standards. He's also openly expressed interest in cutting EV tax credits; thus far, he's only said he's "considering the elimination" of the credit.