The Iowa Utilities Board (“Board”) held a hearing on December 21 regarding their revised rule related to electric vehicle charging. The initial rule stated clearly and simply that electric vehicle charging was NOT the sale of electricity.
The utilities previously contended otherwise, indicating that the incumbent utility could decide how and when a business could sell electric vehicle charging services to the public. After the initial rule was promulgated clarifying that a utility could not dictate how electric vehicle charging was sold, the Legislature’s Administrative Rules Committee, on a narrow vote, objected to the new rule, changing the burden of proof for the utilities to challenge the new rule in district court. Subsequently, the Board revised the rule to avoid a potential adverse legal ruling.
The new rule states if an electric vehicle charging station is not getting 100% of its power from the incumbent utility, then the Board will decide if the charging station is considered a utility. This opens the door to a utility refusing service to a business that has both a charging station and solar on the same meter. Iowa Business for Clean Energy, working with other aligned stakeholders, is proposing language to clarify broad carve-outs to the rule, to ensure a business can have both electric vehicle charging and its own generation on the same meter.
