US EV fast charging has entered ‘Charging 2.0’ – here’s what that means

This is mostly relevant to EV owners rather than home energy upgrades, but here's the gist. The US public fast-charging network kept growing in the second quarter of 2026, though at a slower pace than the year before, with 4,382 new fast chargers added nationwide. Tesla remained the biggest builder, adding 1,185 new charging ports, while Walmart, ChargePoint, and Red E also expanded. Most new stations went into cities and suburbs, with California, Texas, Florida, Illinois, and New York accounting for about 40 percent of new locations.

Charging is also getting faster and more reliable. Most new chargers now deliver at least 250 kilowatts, and reliability scores ticked up slightly. Prices vary by state, averaging around 54 cents per kilowatt-hour, with Hawaii the most expensive and Nebraska the cheapest. More carmakers are shifting to Tesla's NACS plug standard, so newer stations increasingly offer both NACS and the older CCS connector.

For a homeowner, the direct takeaway is limited: this is about public charging stations, not home charging equipment or rebates. But if you're weighing an EV purchase alongside home upgrades like a charger installation, it's a sign that public fast-charging is becoming more dependable and widespread, and that newer EVs with NACS ports will have an easier time finding compatible chargers on the road.