Pennsylvania has opened its 50th federally funded electric-vehicle charging station and launched a $32 million competition for public chargers across 19 eastern counties, extending a rollout that state officials say is moving faster than any other state’s.
The 50th station opened at a convenience store on Linglestown Road in Harrisburg. Pennsylvania now has nearly twice as many open stations financed through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program as any other state, the Department of Transportation said in a Sept. 17 release. Thirty-eight more stations are in planning or construction.
The new eastern round covers Adams, Berks, Carbon, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Northampton, Perry, Pike, Schuylkill, Wayne and York counties. Any organization registered to do business in Pennsylvania and eligible for state and federal funds may apply, but the applicant must own and operate the proposed charging station if selected.
PennDOT’s program page sets a two-stage calendar. Technical questions are due Nov. 23. The eGrants portal is scheduled to open Dec. 7, with proposals due March 12, 2027, at 5 p.m. Eastern. Conditional award notices are expected in June 2027, followed by environmental review and agreement execution.
Projects must include at least four charging ports, provide at least 6 kilowatts per port, include two accessible parking spaces, use qualifying plug types and meet federal Buy America rules. Eligible costs include design and installation. The grants require a 20% match, and PennDOT says it expects the four regional rounds to support well over 100 projects, although the final number will depend on charging power and port counts.
The eastern allocation completes statewide access to the Community Charging phase. Pennsylvania is directing more than $100 million through regional community rounds, on top of $58 million already invested along alternative-fuel corridors and corridor connections. The state’s total NEVI formula allocation is $171.5 million.
The network has recorded more than 146,000 charging sessions since Pennsylvania’s first NEVI station opened in December 2023, according to PennDOT. A separate local report confirmed the funding, deadline, station count and 38-project pipeline.
The buildout is material but does not erase Pennsylvania’s infrastructure gap. The state ranks 18th in a 2026 EV-readiness index, up from 32nd a year earlier, yet has 44 public chargers per 1,000 road miles compared with a national average of 60, according to an Axios analysis. EVs accounted for 3.65% of Pennsylvania’s new registrations in the first quarter of 2026.
For communities and site hosts, the immediate policy question is now where the next stations go. PennDOT says local planning organizations identified priority locations, but proposals may come from any publicly accessible site within the eastern region. Applications will be scored under a standard rubric, placing the next phase on project readiness, public access and the ability to supply matching funds.
