Overview
The state's transportation electrification grid planning process, also known as the "Section 103 Process", is detailed in section 81(d) of chapter 179 of the acts of 2022 as amended by section 103 of chapter 239 of the acts of 2024 and section 54 of chapter 14 of the acts of 2025.
The Section 103 Process includes the following elements:
- 10-Year Forecast: A 10-year forecast of EV charging needs and associated electric distribution grid constraints.
- EV Charging Hubs: Identification of charging hubs along transportation corridors and for use by medium-and heavy-duty vehicle (MHDV) fleets, in coordination with external stakeholders, state agencies, and the utilities.
- Transportation Electrification Grid Plan: A plan to build the grid infrastructure needed to meet the 10-year EV forecast and identified charging hubs developed by the electric distribution companies (EDCs), Eversource, National Grid, and Unitil.
The 10-year forecast and associated EV charging needs is required to be included in the bi-annual report, or "Assessment", of the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Coordinating Council (EVICC) due to the General Court on August 11 of each odd numbered year (2023, 2025, etc.).
EVICC is required to identify charging hubsalong transportation corridors and for use by MHDV fleets six months after each Assessment is completed. The EDCs are required to develop their plan to build grid infrastructure to meet the 10-year EV forecast and identified charging hubs one year after each Assessment is completed.
2025-2027 Section 103 Process
10-Year Forecast
EVICC delivered the 10-year forecast required by section 81(d) of chapter 179 of the acts of 2022 in the Second EVICC Assessment. Specifically, Chapter 4 of the Second Assessment included multiple 10-year forecasts and Chapter 5 included an overview of the analysis of associated grid constraints.
On December 9, 2025, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA), on behalf of EVICC, provided a list of electric distribution feeders and substations that were identified as potentially overloaded using one of the 10-year forecasts included in the Second EVICC Assessment. The list provided by EEA also included a number of questions for the EDCs to answer. The template used by EEA to provide the list of potentially overloaded feeders and substations and associated questions to the EDCs can be found here: Second EVICC Assessment Grid Analysis.
Charging Hubs
Planned Sites
Future EV charging sites planned by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) that meet the definition of transportation corridor and MHDV charging hubs in section 81(d) of chapter 179 of the acts of 2022 were identified during the stakeholder engagement process run between November 2025 and March 2026 (see information on the meetings held below). The sites identified by MBTA and MassDOT are summarized below. EEA informed the EDCs that MBTA and MassDOT identified sites as Section 103 charging hubs on December 16, 2026, and provided detailed information on each site on March 24, 2026, including information on timing, location, and incremental power capacity needs.
MassDOT
- Transportation Corridor Charging Hubs: MassDOT identified grid capacity needs at their Service Plaza locations to accommodate future EV charging demand.
MBTA
- MHDV Charging Hubs: MBTA provided a list of near-term, planned electric bus depots and their anticipated, incremental grid capacity needs.
- Transportation Corridor Charging Hubs: MBTA provided a list of optimal charging hub locations at commuter rail and park and ride sites that were explored for their Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Grant Program application. MBTA and MassDOT continue to explore opportunities to build out charging infrastructure at these sites.
Potential, Optimal Sites
EEA retained E3 and Cambridge Systematics (E3 consulting team) to develop frameworks to identify ideal charging hub locations for fast charging hubs along transportation corridors and charging hubs to serve MHDV fleets as defined by by section 81(d) of chapter 179 of the acts of 2022. Consistent with the findings and the 1st and 2nd recommendations of the Second EVICC Assessment, the frameworks focused on:
- Fast charging along secondary transportation corridors as primary transportation corridors are the focus of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program and the MassDOT Service Plaza efforts.
- Shared and public access charging hubs for MHDV fleets to address the upfront cost barrier of EV charger for smaller fleets.
The final list of ideal charging hub locations was presented at the April 1, 2026 EVICC Public Meeting.
Public Presentations | Dedicated Meetings
Public Presentations
Information on the Section 103 process was provided at the August 2025, December 2025, January 2026, February 2026, and April 2026 EVICC Public Meetings. The hybrid December 2025 EVICC Public Meeting in particular was used to solicit feedback from EVICC members and the public on transportation corridor and MHDV charging hubs. The presentations and meeting minutes from those EVICC Public Meetings can be found here.
Dedicated Meetings
As part of the process to identify transportation corridor and MHDV charging hubs, EEA and the E3 consulting team met with state agency stakeholders and the EDCs on several occasions. Specifically, EEA and its consultants met with state agency stakeholders from MBTA, MassDOT, the Department of Energy Resources (DOER), the Department of Environmental Protection, and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center on November 21, 2025 and January 20, 2026. EEA and the E3 consulting team also met with the EDCs on December 9, 2025 and January 16, 2026. EEA and DOER separately met with the EDCs on March 2, 2026 and March 30, 2026.