Contact: Regina Davis, rdavis@naruc.org

WASHINGTON (December 23, 2022) — A new paper provides examples for regulators and utilities to consider as they develop new rate models to support transportation electrification and encourage greater EV adoption. Suggestions for designing long-term, sustainable solutions for improving the economics of commercial EV charging, without subsidizing EV charging or shifting costs to other customers are offered to help guide practical decision making.  

As part of its new suite of Perspectives publications, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ Regulatory Training Initiative, Best Practices for Sustainable Commercial EV Rates and PURPA 111(d) Implementation looks at the 2022 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act amendments to PURPA Section 111d, requiring regulators and nonregulated utilities to consider new rates to support transportation electrification. The paper was written by Nancy Ryan, a partner in eMobility Advisors; Alissa Burger, a regional policy director for CALSTART; Jenifer Bosco and John Howat, from the National Consumer Law Center; and Miles Muller, from the Natural Resources Defense Council.  

The authors note that, “Designed well, new commercial EV rates can improve the economics of EV adoption during the critical developing years of the market to help facilitate public policy goals, provide significant fuel cost savings to drivers and fleet operators who charge in a manner that supports the electric grid, reflect the underlying costs of serving commercial EV load and avoid subsidizing EV charging or shifting costs to other customers.”

“This NARUC paper explores potential rate design options that may increase EV adoption,” said NARUC Executive Director Greg White. “Thoughtful rate design can unlock the environmental benefits of increased electric vehicle (EV) usage by encouraging charging during periods when the grid is underutilized.”

Case studies from Alabama, California, New York and Oregon are presented, along with rate design examples for operators of public DC fast charging stations and fleet operators, which are two of the most common types of commercial and industrial EV customers. The examples underscore the premise that traditional demand charges present an unnecessary barrier to transportation electrification, that setting rates to recover marginal costs can help attract beneficial load and that rates should be designed to reflect the varying levels of sophistication and motivations among customers.

Download the paper at bit.ly/3VlG3Dp.

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About NARUC

NARUC is a non-profit organization founded in 1889 whose members include the governmental agencies that are engaged in the regulation of utilities and carriers in the fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. NARUC’s member agencies regulate telecommunications, energy, and water utilities. NARUC represents the interests of state public utility commissions before the three branches of the federal government.

About RTI

The Regulatory Training Initiative, developed in 2020 by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, was created as an educational platform for NARUC members and the broader regulatory community. RTI produces papers authored by subject-matter experts and provides live online and pre-recorded training courses to regulators, commission staff, and stakeholders to increase their knowledge of regulatory issues and processes, with a focus on the principles of regulation, as well the key skills required to participate in regulatory proceedings, including regulatory accounting and finance, cost-benefit analysis, and the fundamentals of utility law. The RTI curriculum also includes emerging issues and policies in utility regulation, new and emerging technologies and requirements affecting electricity, water, gas, and telecommunications.