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Moving ahead on EV charging stations
AEA has awarded funding for high speed charging stations on Alaska’s road system while RCA opens docket for utilities’ rate proposal Alan Bailey for Petroleum News
Moves towards encouraging the use of electric vehicles on Alaska’s roads are accelerating. On June 14 the Alaska Energy Authority announced that it is awarding nearly $1 million in grants for the installation of electric vehicle charging stations on the state’s connected road system. And on June 9 the Regulatory Commission of Alaska opened a docket to consider a proposal by the Alaska Railbelt Electric utilities for addressing some tariff impediments to the provision of power for charging stations.
During a Commonwealth North Energy Policy Study Group meeting on June 18, Sean Skaling from Anchorage-based utility Chugach Electric Association presented data showing a steady growth in the purchase of electric vehicles in Alaska, with there now being more electric vehicles rather than hybrid vehicles in the state.
Electric vehicles, while relatively expensive to purchase, offer the benefits of much lower fuel and maintenance costs than internal combustion engine powered vehicles. The electric vehicles are quiet to drive and do not put emissions into the air. But long distance travel in electric vehicles depends on the availability of high speed charging stations along the travel route. The current absence of these high speed stations in Alaska presents an obstacle to electric vehicle use in the state.
Levels of charging stations Essentially, there are three levels of charging system for electric vehicles. A level 1 arrangement, which charges very slowly, consists of a normal 120-volt outlet. Level 2, which can be installed in a house for domestic use, consists of a 240-volt outlet, analogous to the outlet for a clothes drier. A commercial level 3 fast charging station uses direct current rather than AC and operates at power ratings ranging from 50 kilowatts to 250 kilowatts.
Dimitri Shein, executive director of Alaska Electric Vehicle Association, told the Commonwealth North meeting that it typically takes six to eight hours to fully charge an empty car battery using a level 2 charger. On the other hand, a level 3 charger can charge a battery in minutes rather than hours, Shein said.
The AEA funding for charging stations comes from Alaska’s portion of a settlement with Volkswagen over the company’s fraudulent manipulation of emissions testing on its diesel vehicles a few years ago, and from the Department of Energy’s State Energy Program. According to an AEA news release the agency is providing partial funding of up to $110,000 per site to entities building charging stations at nine sites on the road system. The funding will cover part of the cost of a total of 12 level 3 chargers and 11 level 2 chargers across those sites.
For example, charging stations at Cooper Landing and Soldotna will support drivers doing long distance trips on the Kenai Peninsula, while a charging station at Cantwell will support drivers using the Parks Highway. Shein commented that the number of fast charging stations planned still falls a bit short of the number needed to fully support electric vehicle use across Alaska’s long distance road system - he suggested the formation of public-private partnerships with innovative companies for the construction of more charging stations.
Tariff issues Given that level 3 charging stations would be owned and operated by commercial companies, there are some issues that need to be resolved, associated with current electricity tariffs. Hence the new docket that the RCA has opened. All electric utility tariffs require RCA approval.
In particular, under current tariffs, a business entity that purchases electricity has to pay demand charges in addition to the charges for the amount of electricity that the business consumes. The demand charges become particularly high if a business imposes high loads on the system for relatively short periods of time. While these demand charges motivate businesses to spread their electricity loads out, to relieve stress on the electricity supply system, the characteristics of electric vehicle charging would likely result in high demand charges that would severely undermine the viability of charging station operation.
On the other hand, the increased electricity demand from electric vehicle use would be to the utilities’ benefit, especially in an era when electricity demand is tending to fall because of the improved efficiency in electricity use.
Proposed rate structure In their filing with the RCA the utilities proposed a electricity rate structure for commercial level 3 charging stations that would flatten the demand charges at relatively low levels, when charging station power demand is particularly concentrated over relatively short periods of time. The utilities have also asked the commission to resolve two other issues. The first of these issues is a provision in the current utilities’ tariffs that prohibits a purchaser of electricity from a utility from reselling the electricity - clearly that provision would prevent a business from independently operating an electric vehicle charging station. The other issue relates to a need to clarify that an electric vehicle charging station would not be classified as a public utility that would be subject to RCA regulation.
The utilities originally floated their proposals in a May 19 filing in an RCA regulatory docket addressing issues relating to electric vehicle charging stations. As part of that docket the commission invited public comments on the proposals. The commission also asked the utilities to make a formal proposal, to trigger a formal response by the commission to the utilities’ requests - hence the new regulatory docket that was initiated on June 9. Although there is a sense of urgency in dealing with regulatory issues relating to charging stations, the commission does have a legal mandate to invite and consider public comments on what is proposed. The commission has been receiving comments in both of the EV dockets.
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Using EVs for local driving Meanwhile, people are finding electric vehicles to be useful for local driving in Alaska. People can use home level 2 chargers to charge their vehicles overnight, thus having sufficient driving range for daily use. Shein commented that he uses his vehicle in this manner. Shaina Kilcoyne, energy and sustainability manager for the Municipality of Anchorage, told the Commonwealth North meeting that the resulting cost of charging an electric vehicle is less than half the cost of fueling an internal combustion engine.
Kilcoyne also said that the municipality is moving ahead with its own vehicle electrification program, as part of the municipality’s climate action plan. The municipality partnered with Chugach Electric in the installation of one of the level 2 public charging stations in the municipality and is in the process of replacing fuel-hungry diesel garbage trucks and a medium-duty box truck with electric trucks. Apparently the Anchorage Police Department has purchased 20 new hybrid vehicles, with an expectation of a 45% fuel saving.
Skaling said that Chugach Electric has been conducting research into electric vehicle and charging station use in its service area. There is a particularly large opportunity for commercial businesses with vehicle fleets, where a vehicle’s daily milage is within the range of level 2 charging systems, he said.
And, if people are charging their vehicles overnight, that boosts electricity usage at a time when electricity demand is normally low, thus making more complete use of the electricity supply infrastructure. So, given the incentives to make maximum use of expensive electrical infrastructure, the increasing use of electric vehicles should put downward pressure on electricity rates.
“So, EVs really are good for everybody, whether you drive an electric vehicle or not,” Skaling said.
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