Gas stations demand Florida's federal EV charging funds

• While other states have opened their first chargers built with National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure funds, businesses still can't apply to use the Sunshine State's allotted money.

State of play: The Charge Ahead Partnership, representing gas chains like Wawa, Buc-ee's and Busy Bee, is pressing the state to open applications.

• Florida will get $198 million over five years from the NEVI program, created as part of the bipartisan infrastructure law passed in 2021.
• Approved businesses get enough money to cover about 80% of the cost of installing EV chargers.

The big picture: Ohio in December became the first state to open Biden-funded chargers. Five other states have since opened NEVI chargers, and Arkansas recently allocated nearly $15 million to start building them.

• Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Nebraska have yet to open applications for their NEVI funds as well, according to the partnership.

Zoom in: Florida is the largest state that hasn't opened applications and has the most money available. It's also second in the nation in electric vehicle ownership.

• The Florida Department of Transportation did not respond to Axios' request for comment on why the process has not started.

Between the lines: The partnership told the Tampa Bay Times that Florida Power and Light has a "stranglehold" on the state's EV charging market making it harder for businesses to compete.

• FPL in 2022 made the nation's largest utility investment in fast charging.
• A spokesperson for FPL denied the stranglehold claim, telling the Times it's open to EV charging partnerships.