Wisconsin DOT Hopes to Double Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Thursday, June 8th, 2023 -- 10:00 AM

(By Joe Schulz, Wisconsin Public Radio) The Wisconsin Department of Transportation hopes to nearly double the number of publicly-available electric vehicle charging stations around the state with an infusion of federal dollars, but an outdated state law stands in the way.

According to Joe Schulz with the Wisconsin Public Radio, over the next five years, Wisconsin is slated to receive $78.5 million dollars from the U.S. Department of Transportation through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program.

That would cover around 80 percent of the cost of building roughly 60 charging stations. But federal requirements stipulate those stations need to charge customers by the amount of electricity used, also known as kilowatt-hour.

In Wisconsin, only regulated utilities are allowed to charge per kilowatt-hour. Rebecca Valcq, chair of the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, or PSC, said the definition of a public utility in Wisconsin is at the heart of the issue.

"A public utility will be considered a public utility, if anybody, any individual, company or corporation, is providing water or power, either directly or indirectly, to or for the public," she said. "That definition that sits in our state statute has led to a lot of uncertainty for EV charging companies because there is no exception for EV chargers."

The PSC and state DOT said they hope the Legislature will change the law to allow Wisconsin to take full advantage of the federal funds. State officials said expanding the state’s electric vehicle charging network would benefit the tourism industry and utilities while creating infrastructure for the future.

Recent attempts to change the law have failed. A bill was introduced in the state Legislature last session, but died in the Assembly after being approved by the Senate. The language change was included in Gov. Tony Evers' budget, but was removed earlier this year by the Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee.

State Sen. Robert Cowles, R-Green Bay, sponsored a bill last year to exempt EV charging providers from being regulated as a utility. He declined Wisconsin Public Radio's request for comment, but told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he expects a new bill to be proposed this session.

DOT Secretary Craig Thompson said that of the more than 60 public EV chargers already in Wisconsin, only four are compliant with federal guidelines for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program. Right now, most EV stations in the state charge users by the amount of time their vehicle is charging, which isn't particularly transparent, Valcq said.

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