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(DENVER, Ind.) — Legislators are working on a proposal to give you more places to charge up your

electric car.

Utility regulators rejected Duke Energy’s request for a charging-station pilot program last year,

saying they needed guidance from legislators. Representative Ethan Manning’s bill would authorize

those programs.

Manning (R-Denver) says electric vehicles are only going to become more prevalent, not just for

private transportation but for commercial use. He says the state needs to get an idea of how

charging stations will affect the power grid, and how they’re paid for. He’s not sure how many stations

would result, but says they should spring up quickly enough to be part of a task force review of

Indiana’s future energy needs. Legislators are expected to approve that two-year study this year.

A scheduled hearing on Manning’s bill has been postponed by this week’s closure of the statehouse

as a precaution against threatened armed protests tied to President-elect Biden’s inauguration.