(NewsNation) — As more Americans transition to electric vehicles, auto experts caution that a significant challenge lies ahead — beyond the sheer volume of malfunctioning chargers, there's a severe shortage of highly skilled electricians to repair them.
Currently, more than 4,000 charging stations nationwide are out of service, according to the U.S. Energy Department — that's roughly 6 percent of the total number of charging stations across the country.
“The concern is that people are reporting that they aren't always able to charge. So that means there has to be a network of repair and repairers, and that is the part that's not happening," explained Brian Moody, the executive editor for Autotrader.
By 2030, America will need 142,000 additional certified electricians to meet demand.
However, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the electrician labor pool to shrink by 14% in 2030, and finding electricians to repair EV chargers is another hurdle, despite auto experts claiming they are abundant.
“Remember, this isn't the same thing as wiring a light switch in your home, this is a very specialized new type of thing," Moody said.
The inconvenience of malfunctioning chargers has frustrated early EV adopters, and the shortage of electricians to repair them is deterring potential EV buyers.
“Unlike the gas station, where you're there every week or every couple of weeks, and if a pump is broken, there's probably another one nearby that works," said K.C. Boyce, the vice president of auto energy at Escalent. "If it's a bad experience, you're at another gas station, and another week, you have a lot of kind of bites at that apple.”
Meanwhile, workers leading the United Auto Workers strike are apprehensive about the potential consequences of electric vehicles, and it's a significant aspect of union negotiations.
“One of the concerns is that battery factories that will be manufacturing batteries here in the U.S. may not be unionized," Moody explained. "Another concern is that the type of work done may change dramatically so that some people are aged out of their job.”
It's important to note that while gas stations know the cost of a pump failure, EV charging stations might not incentivize companies to address issues promptly due to potentially lower associated costs.