On March 20, 2024, Wisconsin’s Act 121 became law. The Act relates to Electric Vehicle (EV) charging and opened up $78M of Federal funds to build EV charging infrastructure throughout the state.  On May 23, 2024, the first round of these Federal funds via the Wisconsin Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (WEVI) program was announced and two local businesses were selected – Kwik Trip on Ashland’s west end, and Twin Gables Café in Brule.
 
There is much confusion about Act 121 and about ownership of EV charging stations.  Couple that with trying to understand how owning an EV charging station will impact your electric bill, which varies by utility, and the outcome is a mix of misconceptions and misinformation, and the start of a messy transition to clean transportation.  Let’s hope we can get ahead of the curve and stop the confusion before it has a chance to develop.
 
There are three types of charging stations - Level-1, -2, and -3.  Level-1 is powered by a normal household electrical outlet and takes days to charge a vehicle.  Level-2 is a 240-volt charger, similar to a household electric dryer or stove, and typically charges a vehicle overnight.  Level-3, also called a DC fast charger, requires big power, 480v and 3-phase commercial electricity, and can charge a vehicle in 15-minutes to an hour, depending on the capacity of the charger and what the vehicle can take.
 
The primary purpose of Act 121 was to allow private entities to charge EV customers by the kilo-watt hour (kWh) and in doing so would not be considered a utility. This was a requirement to receive Federal funding as the government wants a uniform system throughout the nation.  Act 121 accomplished that but came with a few caveats. First caveat – municipalities cannot own Level-3 public charging stations, and Level-1 or -2 only under certain conditions. The law states:
 
“(2) (a) Except as provided in pars. (b) and (c), no local governmental unit may own, operate, manage, or lease an electric vehicle charging station containing a Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3 charger unless the charger is not available to the public and is used solely to charge vehicles owned or leased by the local governmental unit.”
 
The exception in (b) says a municipality can own a Level-1 or -2 charging stations if it was installed before March 20, 2024, and they give away the electricity for free (who would do that with taxpayer money?), and (c) says they can own a Level-1 or -2 station if installed after March 20, 2024, and they charge a reasonable fee. They cannot own a Level-3 charging station.
 
So, the only Level-3 charger in Bayfield County needs to relinquish ownership and the City of Ashland’s Level-2 chargers must do the same or give the electricity away for free.  They can own Level-2 chargers going forward, however, if they charge a reasonable fee for the electricity. 
 
The legislature came up with this after extensive public comment.
 
There are other nuances within Act 121.  For example, a charging station must register with the State and collect a 3 cents/kWh excise tax. The tax is meant to replace the gasoline tax not paid by EVs. Homeowners do not need to register with the State and therefore it is assumed they do not need to send the State the 3 cent/kWh tax. The Act states that residential Level-3 charging station are exempt but fails to say anything about Level-1 or -2, leading to some confusion.  No home has the power available to install a Level-3 charging station and at a cost of $100K or so per unit, it wouldn’t happen anyway. What they would have in their garage is a Level-2 charger and the Act fails to directly address it.  Muddy waters here at best.
 
More questions:

• How does this law pertain to Tribal nations?
• How does it pertain to the National Park Service?

 
These questions have been presented to the State with no response. If you would like to read Act 121 for yourself, it can be found here: (000001.ildoc) (wisconsin.gov).
 
Moving on to private ownership and utility bills:  We have three electric utilities in our area - Xcel Energy, Bayfield Electric Cooperative, and Dahlberg Light and Power.  Level-3 charging stations require substantial amounts of electricity and are subject to commercial electric rates. Commercial rates at this level have two components, an energy charge by the kWh, and a demand charge by the kW. The WEVI funded sites require a minimum of 4 charging stations and a minimum of 150kW each. If four vehicles happen to charge at the same time, the electric demand would be 600kW, about the same amount of electricity that it takes to power Ashland’s hospital, or about 85 homes all running at peak. If those four vehicles charged for 20-minutes, the demand charge to the site owner would be about $6,000 and the energy charge would be about $20. The income from the sale of the electricity might be about $60, $40 more than the energy charge.  That would be a “reasonable” fee, but a longshot to try to recover the $6,000 demand charge. It would take six hundred vehicles charging in a month to cover the electric bill.
 
How then is this managed by the utilities and site owners?  Bayfield Electric Cooperative has waved the demand charges for EV stations and bills an energy charge higher than their normal energy charge to compensate. They are working on their commercial tariffs now, so the exact program may change.  Xcel Energy has a WI Public Service Commission (PSC) approved commercial EV tariff that not only helps pay for some of the installation but reduces the demand charges to near zero with low usage and increases as usage increases. Dahlberg Light and Power does not have an EV tariff and does not intend to offer one. A WEVI funded EV charging station in Dahlberg territory will get stuck with a $6000+ electric bill if four vehicles charge simultaneously. Twin Gables Café is in Dahlberg territory.
 
These are some of the barriers to a smooth transition to clean transportation. I hope the WI legislature will revisit Act 121 and grandfather-in existing ownership so municipalities can keep their existing charging stations.  What difference does it make that it was installed before or after March 20, 2024? They also need to reassure homeowners they do not need to send the State the 3 cents/kWh excise tax.  And I hope Dahlberg Light and Power establishes a commercial EV tariff that makes commercial EV charging in their territory a reasonable business enterprise. If not, the population driving through that area will not have access to a modern and essential service.  
 
Bill Bailey
Cheq Bay Renewables



Older Posts:
Two Electric Vehicle Initiatives in Bayfield and Ashland Counties.
1) In June 2023, Bayfield County has submitted a grant application for electric vehicle charging infrastructure to be located throughout the county.  Unfortunately, it was not funded but you can read more about Bayfield County's EV Infrastructure plans here. 

2) Ashland County, with help from the UW- Extension and CBR, has initiated an Electric Vehicle Planning Workgroup to help facilitate its transition to electric vehicles.  The group is meeting each month for 10 months and hopes to be prepared for future funding in the spring of 2024.  Read more about Ashland County's Workgroup here.

Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure in Wisconsin

Both the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in Nov. 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act passed in August 2022 have funds allocated for EV charging stations.  On September 14, 2022 the Biden-Harris Administration announced approval of the first 35 states’ National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) plans.  Wisconsin’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure plan (WEVI) was one of the state plans approved.  This will unlock more than $900 million for FY 22 and FY23.  Wisconsin is allocated $11.6M in FY22, and $16.7M in each year FY23 thru FY26 with an estimated total of $78.6M.

In addition, the Inflation Reduction Act authorizes an additional $3B for EV charging for economically disadvantaged communities and an additional $2.5B Discretionary Grant Program for Charging and Fueling Infrastructure.  Rural communities are included in this sector.  On March 14th, 2023 the U.S Department of Transportation release a Notice of Funding Opportunity titled Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Opportunity (DOE CFI).  This NOFO releases the first $700M and is split into two grant categories: Community Program and Corridor Program.  The Community Program allows for charging infrastructure outside the designated WI corridors shown below.
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Wisconsin Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan estimates funds will be available starting in fall 2023 and will be allocated by the WisDOT based on program selection criteria.  State Highway 2 is listed as an “Approved 2022 Alternative Fuel Corridor” and is important because it serves a rural community.  The figure below is from the WEVI Plan:

Deployment of infrastructure funds will be through a competitive process and will seek applications from eligible site hosts to install, own, and operate NEVI-compliant charging stations.  Non-federal matching funds of at least 20% will be required.  Funds will be made available to local governments as well as private entities.  Criteria for siting charging stations are included in the WEVI plan and include things like availability of 3-phase power and that multiple amenities are available.

In March 2022, WisDOT launched its Electrification of Wisconsin website to keep the public updated and informed as this is an evolving process.

The Wisconsin Public Service Commission is also directly involved with EV charging through regulatory policies with the state’s investment owned utilities.  Electric rates and rate design can significantly affect EV deployment.  The WI state legislature is also involved in trying to resolve the $10M Volkswagen settle funds earmarked for EV charging, as well as redefining antiquated utility laws in this new age of electrification.
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The IRS Section 30C 30% tax credit is back starting in 2023 and applies to residential and commercial EV chargers.  It was extended by the Inflation Reduction Act.  The 30% credit does come with some conditions like prevailing wages and apprenticeship requirements. 

In addition, a business can depreciate the equipment in one year using Section 179.  Check with your CPA for details.

CBR has developed a EV Charging Rate Analysis Tool using Xcel Energy's two most common commercial rate tariffs, General Service TOD (Cg-7) and Large General Service TOD (Cg-9).  The purpose of the Tool is to determine the electric bill charged a charging station site owner so they can adequately price rates charged to the EV customer to cover expenses.  The Tool allows the user to input EVSE capacity, number of chargers, and estimated hours of use per month, then it automatically populates the electric bill and break-even rate per kWh.  The Tool can be seen here.  The Tool also takes into consideration Xcel's "100 hour" rule or demand limiter as written in their Cg-7 and Cg-9 tariffs.  The demand limiter is helpful to reduce electric bills for low volume charging.  The Tool also shows what the effect would be if this rule was adjusted to a 150 hour rule.  The 100 hour rule simply divides monthly kWh usage by 100, and that becomes the maximum demand in kW that is charged for the month.

Electric Vehicle (EV) Basics & Economics
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EV Basics

• EVSE – Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment: the technical name of an EV charging station
• All EVs use an EVSE between the vehicle and the power supply. They communicate via a “handshake”
• There are three levels of EVSE (chargers)
  • Level 1 = 120v outlet (normal household outlet, Alternating Current - AC)
  • Level 2 = 240v single phase (like and electric dryer, electric oven or welder, AC)
  • Level 3 = 480v three phase (commercial application, converts AC to Direct Current - DC)
• There are several sizes and capabilities of level 2 and level 3 chargers
  • Level 2 chargers vary from 16amps to 80amps and vary in “intelligence”
    • Level 2 equipment costs vary from $320 to $3000, plus installation
  • Level 3 chargers vary from 50kW to 350kW and also vary with intelligent options
    • Level 3 equipment costs vary from $50K to 100’s of thousands, plus installation
• Many household and commercial buildings will need electric service upgrades to accommodate the larger level 2 chargers.
• Level 3 chargers are tied directly to the utility via a dedicated service and meter but only where 3-phase 480v service is available

EV Quantities

• It takes 26kWh to drive a Tesla 100 miles (varies by manufacturer), or about 4 miles per kWh
• A Ford F150 Lightning EV gets 2 miles per kWh
• An average WI household might use about 24kWh/day
• An average driver will need an additional 10kWh/day to charge a single sedan (drives 15,000/year)

EV Equivalencies

• One gallon of gasoline contains the same energy as 33.7kWh
• An Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) is 20% efficient in converting gasoline into energy
• An Electric Vehicle is 60% efficient

Emissions

• Using EPA emissions data, emissions from electric vehicles using average utility electricity are 63% lower than an ICE vehicle. 

A Few Conclusions

• Using 2022 gasoline and residential electricity prices, it is 2 ½ times cheaper to charge a car with utility electricity than gasoline.  Of course, it is a lot cheaper than that if you make your own electricity with solar PV.
• Using 2022 residential electricity prices, for every 100 miles driven, you would save $8.83 in energy cost with an electric vehicle vs. an ICE vehicle, or save about $1325/year if you drive 15,000/year
• For a commercial customer using Xcel Energy’s off-peak electricity (9pm to 9am at 5.6 cents per kWh) it is 88% cheaper to use electricity than to buy gasoline at $3.60/gallon (average 2022 price)
• As an example, Bayfield County could save $110,500 annually by converting its county fleet fueled with gasoline to EVs.