VEHICLES
Fuels Data Center. That number, which includes public and private locations, ranks Ohio 20th in the country, behind Midwestern neighbors such as Michigan and Pennsylvania.
“It’s a great step,” said Sam Spofforth, executive director of Clean Fuels Ohio, which advocates for reducing pollution from vehicle fuels. “All electricity customers will benefit from this.”
He expects broad benefits because of a decrease in air pollution and because the use of electricity as an automotive fuel will help to broaden the base for paying to maintain the electricity system.
The charging stations are a small part of an agreement that AEP and more than a dozen other parties are asking the PUCO to approve. AEP would receive several items it wants in exchange for making concessions to other groups that signed on to the deal.
AEP’s 1.3 million Ohio customers would pay for the charging-station rebates through a so-far unspecified charge in utility bills. And that is a concern for the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel, which opposes many parts of the rate plan.
“State regulators shouldn’t be asked to make a million consumers — most of whom don’t drive electric vehicles — pay to subsidize electric-vehicle charging through their AEP electric bills,” said Dan Doron, the office’s spokesman, in an e-mail.
Doron said an increase in charging stations should come instead from private investment in response to market demand.
Here’s how the rebate program would work:
AEP would provide money to help pay for up to 300 “Level 2” charging stations, which is a step up from a basic charger. Three in 10 of the stations of this type would need to be in places that the public can access. The rest would be at workplaces, apartments and condominium complexes that might not be open to the public.
The company also would offer rebates for up to 75 “DC Fast” charging stations, which work much faster than a Level 2 charger. All of these stations would be open to the public.
The rebates would range from 50 percent to 100 percent of the costs involved in installing the stations; the highest rebates would be reserved for locations available to the public at government-owned properties.
AEP would not own the stations but would be able to collect a 5 percent fee for administering the rebates, and the AEP name would appear at the stations.
The station owner would be required to share charging data with AEP, including the prices charged for electricity. This data, aggregated to obscure personal information of consumers, would be available to researchers who want to study usage patterns.
Columbus-based AEP had included a version of this proposal last fall in its initial filing for rate changes through 2024. The company negotiated with environmental groups to reach the agreement that was disclosed Friday. The program is part of AEP’s participation in Columbus’ Smart City initiative.
The new plan would involve an outlay of $10 million, up from about $8 million in the previous plan. There are several other differences in the details.
“Installing hundreds of charging stations through the settlement plan has the potential to put Columbus on the map as a leader in bringing more electric vehicles to the Midwest,” said Rob Kelter, senior attorney with the Environmental Law & Policy Center, in a statement. “Getting more electric vehicles on the road will reduce air pollution, encourage American companies to invest more in (electric-vehicle) technologies, and reduce our reliance on dirty fossil fuels.”
His group signed on to the AEP plan, along with the Ohio Environmental Council and Sierra Club, among others.
“This pilot program will make electric-vehicle charging available at apartment complexes, workplaces and in lowincome communities where charging access is needed,” said Dan Sawmiller, an Ohio staff member for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign.