Texas will require electric vehicle (EV) charging companies to incorporate both Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) and the Combined Charging System (CCS) in order to receive federal funding. This decision further cements NACS as the new charging standard in North America following a series of deals with major automakers to adopt Tesla’s charging technology.
The Texas Department of Transportation revealed their updated requirements for Phase 1 of the program rollout on Tuesday, stating that direct current fast chargers must include one CCS and one NACS connector. In a statement to Reuters the agency said that the deals with Ford, General Motors, and today with Rivian was the driving force behind the changes.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that charging companies must incorporate the CCS to qualify for up to $7.5 billion in federal funding dedicated to constructing a network of high-speed chargers. Even though it is a federal program individual states have the authority to create their own guidelines so long as they meet the minimum federal standards.
Texas’s decision will put pressure on other states to adopt the NACS, Lew Cox, director of business development at MD7 told Reuters, “It’ll effectively make NACS the new charging standard,” he said.
According to Reuters other states, including California, Iowa, and Michigan, are currently evaluating the evolving charging market landscape. Furthermore, one state is even contemplating offering bonus points to applicants who include Tesla charging ports in their proposals.
