The General Services Administration (GSA), which oversees federal government buildings, has announced plans to shut down all of its electric vehicle (EV) chargers nationwide, labeling them as “not mission critical.” This decision coincides with the agency’s efforts to offload newly acquired electric cars as part of its broader policy shift.
The GSA currently manages several hundred EV chargers across the country, providing approximately 8,000 plugs for government-owned electric cars as well as personal vehicles of federal employees.
Internal guidance for federal workers regarding the shutdown of these chargers will be issued next week. Some regional offices have already been instructed to begin taking their chargers offline, as reported by The Verge.
The GSA currently operates several hundred EV chargers across the country
According to an email from GSA officials, “As GSA has worked to align with the current administration, we have received direction that all GSA owned charging stations are not mission critical.”
The GSA is coordinating the cancellation of contracts that keep these EV chargers operational. Once these contracts are terminated, the stations will be decommissioned and “turned off at the breaker,” with some chargers scheduled to be disabled next week.
“Neither Government Owned Vehicles nor Privately Owned Vehicles will be able to charge at these charging stations once they’re out of service,” the email states.
At the GSA’s Denver office, staff were informed that EV chargers at four federally owned buildings would be deactivated next week. This news was first reported by Colorado Public Radio.
During the Biden administration, the GSA was tasked with implementing the president’s initiative to transition the federal vehicle fleet from gas-powered vehicles to electric cars. The federal government owns around 650,000 vehicles, with plans to replace more than half with EVs.
These new electric cars will require reliable charging infrastructure. Former President Joe Biden’s climate legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, allocated $975 million for the GSA to enhance federal buildings with “emerging and sustainable technologies,” aiming for a net-zero emissions federal building portfolio by 2045, which included EV chargers.
According to a March 2024 update, the GSA had ordered over 58,000 EVs and started installing more than 25,000 charging ports, adding to the 8,000 already in use. An interactive map showing the locations of all GSA-owned chargers has been taken offline as of February this year.
The GSA will also begin offloading the EVs it purchased during the Biden administration, though it remains unclear whether these vehicles will be sold or stored. Additionally, it is uncertain if other federal agencies will pursue similar measures for their electric cars, as many rely on the GSA’s EV chargers for their own fleets.
“Neither Government Owned Vehicles nor Privately Owned Vehicles will be able to charge at these charging stations once they’re out of service.”
President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to reverse his predecessor’s EV policies, which he mischaracterized as a “mandate.” Since taking office, he has halted a $5 billion initiative to install public EV chargers nationwide, rescinded Biden’s directives for new EV purchases for the federal fleet, and indicated intentions to eliminate the federal EV tax credit and other consumer incentives.
Unlike traditional vehicles, electric cars produce no tailpipe emissions. The combustion of fossil fuels such as gasoline and diesel generates carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas linked to climate change, which intensifies extreme weather events like wildfires and hurricanes. Transportation, including personal vehicle use, accounts for around 28 percent of total US greenhouse gas emissions, as per the Environmental Protection Agency.
A GSA spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comments. The GSA is also planning to sell approximately 500 buildings as part of the Trump administration’s broader strategy to reduce the size of the federal government, as Wired reports.
With additional reporting by Mia Sato
