S3E12: Rob Gramlich, Frank Lacey and Doug Kantor discuss the obstacles posed by utility monopoly regulation for private-sector EV charging infrastructure development

Grid Strategy's Rob Gramlich and Electric Advisors Consulting's Frank Lacey detail the findings of a policy analysis paper they co-authored, Serving Customers Best: The Benefits of Competitive Electric Vehicle Charging Stations.* We also talk with Doug Kantor, general counsel for NACS, the international association for the convenience store industry, which sponsored the policy analysis.

The analysis found EV charging customers will be served best if utilities are not permitted to extend their monopoly into the nascent retail EV charging business. Yet utility regulators in states across the country are already ordering utility investments in public EV charging stations. The lack of proper economic incentives in the utility regulatory model is already becoming clear as reports abound that utility charging stations are often out of commission, in remote areas, or otherwise unavailable to drivers needing to charge their vehicles.

Convenience stores view transportation electrification as an opportunity, not a threat, to the century-old gasoline retailing business, Kantor says. NACS sponsored the policy analysis to highlight the "potholes in the road" facing convenience stores, he says. "The way electricity markets work now doesn't work really well with a competitive business model."

The paper identifies utility regulatory policies that will discourage private-sector investment in EV charging infrastructure and urges policy makers to address these problems now rather than later when the costs to consumers could be much higher.

"We're at the very beginning of this. It will be much more efficient for everybody if we get this right now instead of waiting. If we have to undo things that we've already done, that becomes costly and inefficient and subject to litigation," Lacey notes.

"There's going to be a tremendous amount of investment and [to] achieve the investment needs we have to do it efficiently. And we need to make it work best for consumers," Gramlich says. Utilities have a "key role" to play in electrification and the overall transition to a clean-energy economy, but EV charging should not be part of that, he says. "There are disadvantages to utilities being involved in certain activities ... that could harm service and could raise costs. And we want to get, in this sector like the other sectors, the best service at the lowest cost."

* Energy Markets Podcast Host Bryan Lee is a co-author of the NACS-sponsored EV charging policy analysis paper.

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