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#63: Epic Charging lands major deal with LAZ Parking

Industry resilient despite EV sales uncertainty, States sue Trump Administration (again), LAZ Parking invests in Epic Charging

Author

Steve Taylor
December 20, 2025

The Business and Policy of Charging Infrastructure

The 3 big stories

  • Ohm Analytics EV Charging Lead, Larsen Burack, shares insights from Q3 Market Report

  • 16 US states sue federal government after Trump suspends EV charging programs

  • LAZ Parking invests in Epic Charging to deploy 50,000 chargers

Plus, featured jobs and news.

Steve

Industry News

Ohm Analytics Q3 Report finds that the US EV charging market continues to move forward despite political and operational headwinds. DC charging deployments grew 38% YoY in Q3 2025 across public and private charging, marking the strongest quarter for DC on record, while Level 2 installations grew 8% YoY. 

Behind-the-fence charging continues to anchor commercial L2 deployment activity. Fleet and multi-family projects accounted for 72% of all commercial L2 ports installed in Q3. 

Overall project activity grew incrementally YoY in these key markets (and more):

  • Illinois +102% YoY

  • Colorado + 57% YoY

  • Washington + 43% YoY 

Larsen’s Take

Growth in DC charging this year can be attributed to 4 main factors outside of 16% YoY growth of established CPOs (Tesla, EVgo, Electrify America):

  1. Incentive Programs: 24 state EV infrastructure programs collectively invested $1 billion in charging deployment in 2025, with several more state and utility programs slated for launch in 2026. These programs accelerated deployments in states like IL, CO, and WA.

  2. Emerging CPOs: Ohm Analytics is tracking 38 emerging DC CPOs (less than 100 ports deployed each)—many of which added their first sites to the national network in 2025. 

  3. Automaker/Oil Back CPOs: IONNA, Mercedes-Benz, and bp Pulse are building sites at scale largely without leveraging incentive programs - they deployed nearly 900 DC ports through the end of Q3.

  4. Fleets accounted for over 1,000 DC ports deployed in Q3 2025. Our partners tell us they see major fleet customers doubling-down on their electrification journeys for 2026, not pulling back.

Looking ahead to 2026, we expect the US EV charging industry to remain resilient despite passenger EV sales uncertainty after the EV Tax Credit Sunset (+30% YoY in Q3 2025, -49% MoM in October ‘25) based on state & utility incentive program prevalence, increased charger utilization trends, and cautious optimism from our network.

The industry can deploy higher quality charging at an increased rate in 2026 by (1) streamlining permitting and utility approvals, (2) incorporating BESS, solar, and load management technology to reduce grid dependence, and (3) investing further in O&M and reliability to improve driver experience.

Power and Policy

States sue Trump Admin (Again) on EV Charging $$

This past week, 16 states plus the District of Columbia filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration alleging that it is unlawfully withholding over $2 billion in federal funding for EV charging infrastructure that Congress had authorized as part of bipartisan infrastructure law. The plaintiffs are Democratic-led states such as California, Colorado, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Michigan, and others, plus DC and the governor of Pennsylvania. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle and targets the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Federal Highway Administration for suspending two major programs:

  • Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program ($1.8 bn)

  • EV Charger Reliability and Accessibility Accelerator Program (~$350 m) 

This is the second major legal battle over EV funding this year — a prior lawsuit in May over a $5 billion EV charging infrastructure fund led to a ruling forcing the administration to release much of that money. 

The states argue the administration is violating the Constitution’s separation of powers by effectively blocking funds that Congress mandated through legislation, thus overruling Congress’s power of the purse. 

The refusal to approve new grants or to let states spend already allocated funds is characterized as “unlawful” impoundment of federal appropriations. In the similar case earlier in 2025, a federal judge ruled that freezing federal funds without legal basis was unlawful.  The impoundment issue is part of a broader pattern of litigation in 2025 where courts have rebuked attempts by the administration to withhold congressionally approved funds.

Emerging Tech

LAZ Parking has invested in Epic Charging to deploy 50,000 Level 2 EV chargers across North America, targeting hotels, commercial real estate, municipal lots, and airports as part of its "Charge Where You Park" strategy.

Epic's open Charge Point Management System will integrate directly into LAZ's tech stack, enabling smart maintenance, payment automation, and charger analytics. 

The partnership will also accelerate development of Epic's Charge OptimAIzer®—a platform that uses real-time vehicle telemetry, grid signals, and dynamic utility rates to intelligently coordinate charging loads.

The focus here isn't just coverage—it's optimization. Epic's approach turns distributed L2 chargers into data-driven assets, delivering faster ROI for real estate owners and a better driver experience.

Steve’s Take

Parking infrastructure is quietly becoming the backbone of urban EV charging.

Level 2 charging has often been viewed as secondary to fast charging. But paired with smart software and strategic placement, L2 charging providers lower installation costs and built-in dwell time.

What makes this different is the scale and integration. LAZ controls over 3,500 locations and already has the real estate and consumer touchpoints. Epic brings a platform that turns chargers into data-driven assets.

The AI layer is the key. As utility rates become more volatile and charger density increases, energy orchestration will be critical to keeping OPEX down and uptime high.

Expect more parking operators to strike similar deals with charging platforms in the next 12–18 months.

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⚡️Steve and Rob

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