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January 15, 2025 – The ambitious rollout of electric heavy goods vehicles (eHGVs) across the United States faces a major roadblock: utility timelines for grid connections. According to a report released today by sustainability consultancy TwentyForty, the average wait time for a new commercial charging connection now exceeds 18 months in several key freight corridors, potentially stranding billions of dollars in federal and private investment.
“We have the trucks, we have the federal grants, but without a functioning grid connection, those vehicles will sit idle,” said Claire Dempsey, lead author of the TwentyForty report. “The bottleneck has shifted from manufacturing to the utility pole.”
The analysis examined 40 major depot sites planned by fleets from California to New Jersey, finding that over half faced delays of more than one year due to utility capacity studies, transformer shortages, and permitting backlogs. The report warns that if utility interconnection processes don’t improve, the nation’s goal of putting 300,000 zero-emission heavy trucks on the road by 2030 could slip by at least two years.
TwentyForty developed a first-of-its-kind “grid readiness index” that ranks U.S. utilities on their preparedness for transport electrification. Among the bottom performers are utilities in the Midwest and South, where depot electrification requests have skyrocketed but staffing and planning lag. In contrast, some West Coast utilities have streamlined approvals for larger charging hubs by adopting pre-approved designs.
“There’s a huge geographic disparity,” Dempsey noted. “Fleets looking to electrify in Chicago or Atlanta face much longer queues than those operating in Northern California.”
The report arrives as the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation begins distributing the second tranche of $7.5 billion from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for EV charging infrastructure. However, only a fraction of that funding has been designated for heavy-duty charging depots, and without shorter interconnection timelines, grant recipients risk losing their funds due to “use it or lose it” clauses.
The study recommends that utilities invest in standardized interconnection studies, pre-build capacity near freight hubs, and set performance metrics for charging requests. It also urges fleet operators to start utility negotiations at least two years before their trucks arrive.
“Many fleets are making the mistake of ordering trucks first and worrying about power later,” said Dempsey. “That sequence needs to be reversed.”
TwentyForty plans to release an updated grid readiness index every six months to track progress.
