Title: Charging Transportation Electrification Forward: Identifying Opportunities & Regulatory Solutions in the Rapidly Evolving EV Market
Speakers: Josh Combs and Drew Wooldridge
Josh Combs (00:07):
Hey, Drew. Look forward to talking today about EVs and picking your brain about some of what we’re seeing in the policy and regulatory landscape. So glad to have you here.
Drew Wooldridge (00:17):
Glad to be here. And EVs are a very hot topic right now. I think with the Inflation Reduction Act, tax credits and the states are getting involved, that’s kind of the area that I work in is the state legislative and regulatory area and we’ve seen a lot of action in that area in the last couple years.
Josh Combs (00:36):
And to that point, some of the things that commissions are grappling with are these big policy questions about who should own electric vehicles, who’s going to pay for and build out the infrastructure. Some of those big questions I think would be good for us to talk about today. And I guess to that point, what have you been seeing in terms of ownership and who owns EVs and who is allowed to own EVs throughout the states?
Drew Wooldridge (01:03):
I think the ownership’s in flux. They’re becoming more adopted even in rural areas here in Georgia and across the country. Some people have very optimistic forecasts for adoption and some people are less optimistic, but it’s certainly happening. Maybe not to the extent some people think or maybe more than others think. So it’s something that I think utilities and policymakers need to know about and need to prepare for.
Josh Combs (01:32):
In terms of, I guess, from a legislative standpoint of ownership, we’ve seen around the country lots of legislation pop up that address these issues. And I know that that’s something that we work on together from the legislative aspect. Are there kind of trends or big policy points about the legislation in this area that you could speak to?
Drew Wooldridge (01:54):
Well, one thing we’ve seen is something that really, as a person who works for electric utilities, we didn’t anticipate is maybe some potential legislation, some ideas from other stakeholders that you normally don’t think of in the utility space. We’ve seen legislation in Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma. I’ve worked closely here in Georgia on legislation that was put forward, mainly supported by convenience stores, both your local mom-and-pop convenience stores and the national chains that dealt with some of the issues that they have with the electric vehicle transformation and things that frankly, us who work at utilities didn’t really think about. I think a good example of that is competition. A lot of utilities, or at least most of the utilities I work with, don’t really see themselves as competing with convenience stores. But of course, the convenience stores who are in the business of fueling vehicles, now mainly by gasoline, but possibly in the future with electricity, do see themselves as the rightful people that should meet this need in the marketplace. So there were challenges that utilities, I think, faced that they may not have anticipated.
Josh Combs (03:14):
So from a legislative perspective, I guess issues were arising that probably utilities have never faced before. And I guess, when you think about the resolutions, and I think about how a bill becomes a law, are there ways that utilities or stakeholders that you’ve seen resolve some of those issues that was in the best interest for all stakeholders to kind of move the ball forward with EV adoption?
Drew Wooldridge (03:42):
I think so. I think a big point is to get all the stakeholders in a room and to talk about it. But specifically, we were concerned with… Well, I should put it this way. The convenience stores in the marketplace are there to make money, to make a profit. And so they view rural areas and underserved areas as not necessarily the market where they’re gonna make the most revenue. I think it’s very similar to broadband adoption. We’ve seen across the country, broadband adoption in urban areas, suburban areas. It’s sort of lagged in low income and in rural areas. And the utilities I work with also see a place for themselves in those potentially underserved areas. I think the marketplace wants to serve interstate corridors. I think they wanna be involved in cities and suburbs. But in a lot of states, you have areas that are not close to interstates, do not have urban areas. I think there’s a place for utilities in that area.
Josh Combs (04:45):
We’ve talked about broadband, and that’s an area where in some jurisdictions commissions, public utility commissions may have jurisdiction or may not depending. And that’s one of the issues that in the EV space some commissions have grappled with. I know that states don’t always come out with the same resolution. I think that there are situations in Maryland, for instance, where the commission did find that basically under their broad authority to regulate public utilities, but in other instances, and I guess one that we’ve talked about before is Alabama where the Alabama Commission found that under their governing statute, they didn’t have authority to regulate EVs. Is that something also, from the commission perspective, that could be addressed through legislation?
Drew Wooldridge (05:32):
I think that’s a great point. And when you think about it, we have 50 states and 50 different utility regulation regimes. And so some states, I think, felt like they had the authority to either take jurisdiction or say they have no jurisdiction over EV charging services. You mentioned two good examples there of things we saw in the states. But some states do need changes in their laws. Maybe service territory regulations. Sometimes it deals with rate regulations. And just the retail sale of electricity and there needs to be adjustments there in some circumstances. So I really think that some states probably do require legislation and then you’ve got some states that the legislation’s not required.
Josh Combs (06:22):
So as we continue working with our clients who are from all perspectives in different markets and different jurisdictions and they’re grappling with how to resolve some of these issues, what are some key takeaways in going into an EV discussion, whether it’s from a policy perspective or a legislative perspective, that we might want our clients to know about?
Drew Wooldridge (06:45):
I think in terms of some of the people we work with, we found some innovative solutions to help with the stakeholders and address some of their concerns. For example, I think there’s room to have something that some places call a community charging program where the utility is only allowed to operate in maybe rural and economically disadvantaged areas. Or maybe there’s limitations on where the utility can put utility-owned charging services into the ground. I will say that all stakeholders we work with wanna participate with the utility for make ready funds. And they need help with the infrastructure that gets the electricity to the charging station. So there’s also room for utilities to be heavily involved in that area and the stakeholders appreciate it as well.
Josh Combs (07:33):
And I think it’s a good point you mentioned that we do have 50 states and they’re almost like 50 different labs and I think that each state is gonna be addressing these issues from a different point in the race. There are states like Florida that come to mind where some of this infrastructure, some of these preliminary questions have already been addressed, where there may be other areas of the country where this is kind of a novel first time issue that they’re addressing.
Drew Wooldridge (07:58):
Yeah, that’s a good point. I think some states and some utilities are further along in this potential transformation than others. I think what we’re seeing is some of the marketplace reaction to some of the utilities in some of the states that are still starting to grapple with these issues and these questions.
Josh Combs (08:18):
All right. Well, I’ve enjoyed the chance to pick your brain. I know that we’ll continue to talk about these issues. Thanks for the chat.
Drew Wooldridge (08:24):
Certainly, and thanks for having me, Josh.
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