By Owen Evans, Community News Service
As the ski season comes to a close, something that continues to be on the minds of mountain resort operators is electric vehicle charging. The Trump administration paused access to more than $16 million sent to Vermont through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program.
Since 2021, the number of electric vehicles registered in Vermont has more than doubled. The same can be said for Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey – where the highest number of out-of-state skiers in Vermont come from.
Many of Vermont’s ski resorts already offer EV charging in their parking lots, including Killington Mountain Resort, which offers 47 chargers for guests, a total which leads the industry in the U.S.
But many resorts either have limited charging options or lack chargers entirely, detracting from the guest experience.
“I have power anxiety if the resort doesn’t have chargers,” said Joanna Whitcomb, a New Hampshire resident and frequent Vermont skier. “They’re well-maintained but generally in use. More chargers are needed.”
Beyond charger availability, other issues have been felt.
“General courtesy from users, including staying at a charger when not necessarily needed, and not properly rehanging the cord and plug” are some of the challenges at Sugarbush Resort, said Margo Wade, director of planning.
That can prove a problem in the winter, she said, when loose cords can get caught by plow trucks and send a charger out of service for weeks.
“If the plug is not properly rehung and gets wet from snow or rain, it can short out the unit, which requires resort staff to dry and reset the unit,” Wade added.
Molly Mahar, president of the Vermont Ski Areas Association, believes EV charging is something resorts will have to invest in if they haven’t already – and that they need to continue to invest in what they already have.
“Ski area guests are early adopters of technology like EVs, and ski areas have seen more EV traffic and growing demand for charging infrastructure in recent years. It’s important that ski areas provide charging infrastructure to accommodate how their guests travel and encourage use of clean transportation,” Mahar said. “Transportation is a major source of Vermont’s carbon emissions, and we want to support guests’ use of EVs to travel to Vermont and to the ski areas.”
Sugarbush, which currently offers 24 chargers divided among the Mt. Ellen and Lincoln Peak parking lots and the Claybrook Hotel garage, is looking to add to its existing infrastructure.
“We hope to expand our EV charger program at the resort in the future,” said Wade. “Current limits to expansion include cost to upgrade/upsize electric service at specific locations and cost to purchase and install electric vehicle supply equipment.”
Mahar said upgrades require investment from the state, too. “They have done a decent job with charging infrastructure. Another project was about to get underway to add more charging infrastructure using federal dollars, but this is now on hold due to cuts in federal spending,” she said.
In February, the Trump administration paused access to more than $16 million in federal funding sent to Vermont’s Agency of Transportation through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program.
Andrew Wright, environmental policy manager for the agency, said one station already operating in Bradford will continue receiving funds.
But in February, the agency suspended “four executed contracts and five awards” for additional charging installations, Wright said. The agency had directed funding to 11 charging station projects on the whole; the two contracted locations that were not suspended, in Randolph and Wilmington, will be paid for by state funds.
The sidelined contracts and awards – as well as future ones – depend on moves at the federal level, Wright said.
The ski industry is a significant part of Vermont’s economy. In 2023, the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis found outdoor recreation created $2.1 billion in value added for Vermont, accounting for 4.8% of Vermont’s gross domestic product. The highest economic contributor to Vermont’s outdoor sector was snow activities, including skiing and snowboarding, which contributed $220 million to Vermont’s GDP, up from $170 million in 2022.
Across Vermont, there are over 490 charging stations with almost 1,300 total charging ports. A detailed map of every charger in the state can be found on the U.S. Department of Energy’s website.
