Take Action for EV Charging!

Senate Bill 266 is crucial legislation that will help to level the playing field and drive private investment in Ohio’s EV charging market. SB 266 will prevent electric utilities from owning and operating EV charging stations for the next five years unless done so through a separate, unregulated subsidiary or affiliate. These utility affiliates would be subject to the same rates, terms and conditions as private EV charging operators and cannot receive subsidized rates or other advantages from the utility parent company.

Five years after implementation electric utilities would be permitted to petition to build EV chargers as a part of their regulated business in rural “areas of last resort” that lack publicly available EV charging stations. When seeking to build EV chargers in these areas utilities would be subject to a right of first refusal (ROFR) process, ensuring that private entities have the opportunity to serve an area prior to the construction of a utility-owned and ratepayer funded charger. This legislation has been assigned to the Senate Transportation Committee and had its first hearing on June 12, 2024. A proponent hearing was held for the bill for Wednesday, December 4, 2024.

Please contact the members of the Transportation Committee to express your support for SB 266. To contact the members of the committee, start by following this link to view the committee roster. From this page you can click on each member of the committee to go to their legislator webpage and then select the contact tab on the right of the top menu. This will display a form to fill out which will generate an email to the senator’s office. You can also call the senator’s office using the phone number also displayed on this page. If you need assistance crafting your message, we encourage you to use the coalition support letter that CAP organized earlier this year as a resource. If you need further assistance contacting the Transportation Committee members and expressing your support for SB 266, please do not hesitate to reach out. Furthermore, if you are interested in adding your company or organization's name to the coalition letter please reach out here.

There is legislation in New Jersey that will help address demand charges and provide the transparency and certainty necessary for those considering investing in electric vehicle (EV) charging. Assembly Bill 4624 would require electric utilities to file rates with the Board of Public Utilities that would utilize alternatives to both traditional demand-based rate structures and capacity demand charges and accelerate third-party investment in EV charging infrastructure. A4624 received a favorable vote from the Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee on September 19, 2024 and has been referred to the Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee. There is also a Senate version of this bill, S256, which was introduced earlier this year but has not moved yet.

This legislation presents an excellent opportunity to advocate for rate structures that will help mitigate demand charges and create the transparent pricing system necessary for a competitive EV charging market. CAP sent a letter of support for this legislation ahead of the first committee hearing and plan to do so again at future opportunities. We encourage members with operations in New Jersey to consider expressing their support well. Should you wish to submit comments and need assistance please do not hesitate to reach out.