Tulsa Energy Company Hopes To Improve Electric Car Charger Network With Federal Grant

The Biden Administration announced $66 million in federal grants for alternative fuel infrastructure, starting with electric vehicle charging stations along major highways.

The state will have to apply for the funding, with a plan to use the money and build out the charging network. In Tulsa, Johnathan Ledet was an early adopter he bought an electric vehicle three years ago and says he usually charges it up at home, but can also get an inexpensive fill up at the grocery store. 

“Even if the utility doubled it, you'd still make out like a bandit,” said Ledet, who was charging up a Tesla EV, “You'd still save money on fuel. This thing, to fill up from 0 to 100%, only costs about $10."

As electric vehicles improve, and prices drop, more people will buy them. Tulsa's Francis Energy is counting on that as they're building a network of charging stations with the intention to have one at least every 50 miles. 

“People always want to know they can get an easy, convenient charge, and not be left stranded,” said Clark Wheeler, the Chief of Staff for Francis. He expects the federal grants will speed up the adoption of electric vehicle technology. Francis Energy builds the type of fast chargers the government grants will encourage, which Wheeler said run about $150,000 each.

The company has 118 chargers in Oklahoma now, according to Wheeler, but he said they will become far more common very soon. 

“What we're really expecting is that trucks and SUV's, once those electric models are available, Oklahomans are really going to love that product. And they're really going to adopt them at a rapid pace. So we want to build this infrastructure to be ready for that.”