OLYMPIA – A bipartisan bill requiring electricians to be certified to install electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at certain facilities passed the Senate Wednesday.
Senate Bill 5528, sponsored by Sen. Marko Liias (D-Edmonds), ensures EV charging stations at state-owned facilities are installed only by electricians certified by the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program or a similar nationally recognized program.
About one in five charging stations in the U.S. malfunctions, with issues like unresponsive screens, payment failures, internal station faults, and broken charging connectors. With EV ownership increasing in Washington, the bill’s certification requirement helps ensure state-owned charging stations are installed by qualified electricians, improving reliability for drivers.
“Pulling up to a broken charger when you’re running on a low battery is one of the scariest and most frustrating experiences for people driving electric cars,” Liias said. “With more Washingtonians choosing electric cars, our charging infrastructure must be as reliable as the fuel pumps at our gas stations.”
The bill requires training on key topics, including site assessment and safety, load calculations, the National Electric Code, and installation and maintenance best practices. Certification costs less than $300 and typically involves about 20 hours of online instruction.
While the required training promotes consistent installation quality in the state, it also ensures electricians stay safe. Nicole Grant, a journey level electrician and representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 46, said worker safety is critical as demand increases for EVs and charging infrastructure.
“As EV adoption increases, there are concerns about safety. And by requiring training, we’re doing something that’s a best practice, that is high impact for safety, and a low burden to the people that take the class,” Grant said in her testimony to the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee.
The bill now moves to the House for consideration. Follow its progress here.