Alaska’s state utility regulator has approved a plan from Alaska Electric Light and Power to help the utility cope with Juneau’s rising number of electric cars.
In a decision dated Oct. 4, the Regulatory Commission of Alaska approved AEL&P’s plans for a special overnight discount rate for electric vehicle charging at home. AEL&P will also be able to lease charging equipment to the owners of electric vehicles.
The commission, as the state’s regulator, is charged with overseeing utility costs. Utilities may have a monopoly in their region; the commission is charged with making sure costs are reasonable.
AEL&P has been allowed to use the special rate and to lease equipment on an interim basis; the RCA’s decision makes the permission permanent.
The decision does not affect the free electric-vehicle charging stations run by the City and Borough of Juneau. This applies only to people who charge their vehicles at home.
Alec Mesdag, AEL&P’s electric vehicle specialist, said by phone that there were 143 registered Nissan Leafs in Juneau on Aug. 2, and likely more than 150 electric vehicles of all kinds. It’s not unreasonable to believe there are 175 or more in Juneau today, he said. There were about 100 in December when AEL&P applied for regulatory permission.
Under AEL&P’s plan, the electric company will offer electric-car owners the little-known “demand metered energy charge” if they charge during a seven-hour period at night.
Juneau electric-vehicle owners had sought a wider low-price charging window, but regulators sided with AEL&P.
That rate is 6.02 cents per kilowatt/hour during the winter (November through May) and 5.26 cents per kilowatt/hour during the summer. That compares to 12.4 cents and 10.2 cents for ordinary residential electrical service.
The lower rate won’t be applied to the car owner’s entire bill, only the electricity used for the car will receive the lower rate.
Customers must agree to install a separate electrical circuit for their car charger and have a second electrical meter installed on that circuit.
AEL&P will check that meter and subtract its reading from the main house meter.
Homeowners can set up much of that system, or they could have AEL&P do it for them. AEL&P is offering to rent a charger and second meter for $11.28 per month.
Mesdag said the idea behind the special rate isn’t to encourage electric vehicles. Instead, it’s to help AEL&P cope with increased electrical demand. If electric vehicles charge during the day, they might add to peak electrical demand, possibly requiring AEL&P to build a new power plant. The costs of that plant would be passed to ratepayers.
“We’re trying to encourage a change in charging behavior rather than encouraging purchasing,” he said.
Commissioner Stephen McAlpine concurred with the decision but in an addendum wrote that AEL&P might want to consider subsidizing electric vehicles in Juneau because “the compact confines of communities in Southeast Alaska coupled with limited road miles provides the perfect petri dish for EV utilization.”
“Instead of ignoring the incentive to encourage the expansion of EV purchases, AEL&P should be asking the Commission to ignore some of the archaic principles of rate making and perhaps give away the minuscule amount of electricity that these vehicles require for charging,” he wrote, because incentivizing electric vehicles right now would benefit AEL&P in the long term by attracting additional customers.
• Contact reporter James Brooks at james.k.brooks@juneauempire.com or call 523-2258.
