Excerpt from “Economic Development Rates to Encourage EV Infrastructure Investments” by Smart Electric Power Alliance’s Erika Myers in the December PUF:
“What would happen in your community if every household with a vehicle had an extra 2,000 dollars in their bank account each year? In a moderately-sized community of a 100,000 households with personal vehicles, this could add up to an extra 200 million dollars that could be spent on local restaurants, entertainment, or other local businesses.
What if utilities could design special economic development rates that promoted this kind of growth? Those new revenues could increase the tax base to enhance investments in education and infrastructure, reduce taxes, and ultimately spur the creation of new jobs and other local private investments. Electric vehicles present massive opportunities to divert billions of dollars spent on gasoline and diesel fuels, much of which leaves the local community, back to local economies and industries.
Utilities should be able to use economic development rates to attract large-scale, private sector investments in charging infrastructure. These rates are designed to be more flexible and more attractive than a standard commercial rate and potentially include financial incentives, such as infrastructure grants, tax credits, and low-interest loans.”
