Gas stations and grocery stores in Wisconsin could more easily operate electric vehicle charging stations under bills signed into law by Gov. Tony Evers Wednesday.
The measures also allow Wisconsin to tap into more than $78 million in federal funds — first approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2022 — aimed at boosting the number of EV charging stations along state highways and interstates. The legislation needed to be signed by March 31 in order to receive those funds.
“We don’t have to choose between protecting our environment and natural resources or creating good-paying jobs and infrastructure to meet the needs of a 21st-Century economy — in Wisconsin, we’re doing both,” Evers said in a statement ahead of the signing. “Expanding EV charging infrastructure is a critical part of our work to ensure Wisconsin is ready to compete and build the future we want for our kids —one that is cleaner, more sustainable, and more efficient.”
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Previously, a business that wanted to operate EV charging stations had to be regulated as a utility.
The new law provides private businesses an exemption from the rule and requires that they sell electricity by the kilowatt-hour — that is, by the amount used — rather than by the length of time it takes to charge a vehicle. The state will also impose a 3-cent per kilowatt-hour excise tax on electricity sold through an EV charging station.
EV charging stations are characterized as Level 1, 2 or 3, with the third level being the fastest in terms of how long it takes to charge a vehicle.
Under the law, any existing Level 1 and 2 chargers in the state do not need to charge the 3-cent excise tax. Any new charging stations, as well as all current and future Level 3 chargers in the state, would be required to charge for power by the kilowatt-hour and collect the excise tax. The measure also excludes residential chargers from fees and taxes.
The state Department of Revenue estimates there are more than 17,000 electric vehicles registered in Wisconsin. The agency estimates the excise tax will generate about $3.1 million in revenue in the fiscal year that ends in the summer of 2025. However, that number could be lower depending on how many EV drivers charge up at home. The state Department of Transportation offers a much lower projection, estimating the tax to generate up to $314,000 in fiscal year 2025.
Any funds generated by the excise tax would go into the state transportation fund, which is used to fund infrastructure projects like roads and bridges.
The 2-year-old National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure formula program, which provides funding to states for electric vehicle charging stations and infrastructure, has pledged $78.6 million to Wisconsin if it allows charging stations to sell electricity by the kilowatt-hour. The state can also apply for another $2.5 billion in competitive funding if it meets program requirements, including that charging stations bill by the kilowatt-hour.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation plans to use those federal funds to help develop dozens of new charging stations along major interstates and highways in the state.
“WisDOT is ready to activate the federal funding and help industry quickly build fast chargers across the state,” DOT Secretary Craig Thompson said in a statement. “Electric vehicle drivers in Wisconsin will soon be able to travel about 85% of our state highway system and never be more than 25 miles away from a charger.”
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said earlier this year he’s open to the idea of expanding EV charging stations in the state but said spurring that development using federal dollars instead of letting the market determine what gets built was “a dumb idea.”
“It’s such a waste that we are spending all this money on electric charging stations,” Vos said at a WisPolitics.com luncheon in Madison on Tuesday.
“It should have never happened, it is a big huge boondoggle,” Vos said of the federal funding. “That money is coming into Wisconsin and we are going to have a few electric charging stations, when probably 10 years from now electric vehicles aren’t going to be the reality of where our nation is.”