© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Car chargers at a Tesla Supercharging station are shown in Carlsbad, California, U.S. Sept. 14, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
By Hyunjoo Jin
San Francisco (Reuters) -Kentucky is requiring that electric vehicle charging companies include Tesla (NASDAQ:)’s plug if they want to be part of a state program to electrify highways using federal dollars, according to documents reviewed by Reuters.
Kentucky’s plan went into effect on Friday, making it the first state to mandate Tesla’s charging technology, although Texas and Washington states previously shared such plans with Reuters.
In addition to federal requirements for the rival Combined Charging System (CCS), Kentucky mandates Tesla’s plug, called the North American Charging Standard (NACS), at charging stations, according to Kentucky’s request for proposal (RFP) for the state’s EV charging program on Friday.
“Each port must be equipped with an SAE CCS 1 connector. Each port shall also be capable of connecting to and charging vehicles equipped with charging ports compliant with the North American Charging Standard (NACS),” the documents say.