GAIN STATEMENT: U.S. Postal Service’s EV Push Spends Millions Just to Jeopardize Reliability

“How will Americans living in cold climates rely on the USPS if their delivery trucks don’t work in cold weather?”

This week, the U.S. Postal Service unveiled its first electric delivery vehicles and postal electric vehicle charging stations. The USPS plans to grow its electric fleet to 66,000 in the next four years and will install charging stations at hundreds of sorting and delivery centers across the country over the next year.

The procurement of EVs and the installation of charging stations is enabled by $3 billion in tax-payer dollars that congress appropriated under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

The news comes on the heels of reports that EV’s batteries are being rendered useless, and charging stations are not working, in cold weather.

Below is a statement that can be attributed to me, Craig Stevens, spokesman for the GAIN Coalition and former senior advisor to U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman:

“The U.S. Postal Service’s official launch for transitioning its delivery fleet to electric vehicles stands in stark contrast to numerous reports of inoperable EVs in Chicago last week. How will Americans living in cold climates rely on the USPS if their delivery trucks don’t work in cold weather?

Throwing billions of tax-payer dollars at USPS to compel a transition to EVs is just the latest example of the Biden administration’s illogical and shortsighted strategy to rush America’s transition to EVs.

Clearly, there are still significant issues with electric vehicles – not working in the cold, strains on the electrical grid, and a China-centric supply chain just to name a few. Between the effects of cold weather, and the potential for exorbitant energy demand, a de facto transition to EVs could result in late deliveries and an electricity demand surge that overloads our grid.”