Storm showed limitations of evs in maine, and the public has until february to weigh in

AUGUSTA – In what some may call a definitive example of irony, the Maine Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) postponed its planned vote last week on the adoption of the Advanced Clean Cars II Rule, known as the “California Rule.”  The board said its decision to postpone the vote was due to the “challenges facing Maine citizens” amid a powerful storm that knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of residents and businesses for days.

The storm lashed the state with wind gusts as high as 93 miles per hour and inches of rain, including 7.6 inches recorded by the National Weather Service in the Oxford County town of Newry. Outages peaked at over 450,000 customers but affected thousands more since power was restored quickly for some while others lost power as the storm and flooding progressed.

“Some areas didn’t have power restored until just before Christmas day. The irony that Maine BEP is looking to mandate the sale of electric vehicles when half of Maine didn’t even have the power to charge them cannot be lost here,” said Senate Republican Leader Trey Stewart, R-Aroostook. “This storm proved that being stranded on a dark rural road with no power in freezing conditions is a dangerous situation we should never create for anyone. We need years of infrastructure improvement before we can even consider a market-driven increase in the use of EVs, and certainly not one through arbitrary mandates.”

Senate Republican Leader Trey Stewart, R-Aroostook

The proposed California Rule mandates that 43% of all new vehicle sales in Maine be zero-emission electric vehicles (EVs) by the 2027 model year. In postponing the vote to next year, the board will now have to wait until the 2028 model year to implement the rule and reopened the comment period for the public to weigh in on the mandate until Feb. 5, 2024.

The postponement also meant Maine BEP was able to avoid any immediate backlash as EV owners in areas heavily affected by the power outages were left with no options to recharge their vehicles.

Nearly 1,000 people either appeared in person or submitted testimony during the previous comment period, with 81% opposed to the requirement. Additionally, a petition with 10,000 signatures was also submitted in opposition to the EV mandate. Four of the seven unelected regulators ultimately voted in October to have staff prepare for the rule’s adoption.

It is unclear whether the delay to the 2028 model year will also increase the initial sales ratio to 51%, which is set to rise to 82% for all new vehicle sales by 2032.