Bill Text: NJ A4927 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires electric utilities to prepare tariffs for commercial customers, and prohibits certain charges by electric utility to operators of certain electric vehicle charging facilities prior to BPU approval of tariff.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-12-05 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee [A4927 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-A4927-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman DANIEL R. BENSON
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblyman STERLEY S. STANLEY
District 18 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires electric utilities to prepare tariffs for commercial customers, and prohibits certain charges by electric utility to operators of certain electric vehicle charging facilities prior to BPU approval of tariff.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the provision of electric power to electric vehicle charging stations and supplementing Title 48 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. No later than 180 days after the effective date of this section, each electric public utility shall file an application with the Board of Public Utilities to establish a tariff for the provision of electricity to commercial customers. The tariff shall be designed to:
(1) utilize alternatives to both traditional demand-based rate structures and capacity demand charges;
(2) establish cost equity between commercial electric vehicle tariffs and residential tariffs;
(3) remain neutral with respect to the various types of electric vehicle charging technology;
(4) accelerate third-party investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles; and
(5) promote electric vehicle adoption in the State.
b. A tariff developed pursuant to this section shall include: (1) alternative rate designs for the collection of charges for generation and transmission capacity in the PJM capacity market; and (2) alternative rate designs for electric distribution service. The tariff shall not obligate a customer to furnish additional data collection as a condition of service beyond what can be obtained from the customer's electric meter. Each tariff shall provide predictable effective cost per kilowatt-hour delivered over a range of load factors. Rates for electric distribution in the tariff shall be designed to encourage investment in faster, higher-powered electric vehicle charging facilities and shall include comparable costs per megawatt hour for both higher-power and lower-powered direct current fast charging facilities.
c. The board shall expeditiously review, pursuant to the provisions of section 7 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-55) and the rules or regulations adopted pursuant thereto, each application submitted pursuant to this section , and shall approve the application if the board determines that it complies with the requirements of this section and all other applicable laws, rules, and regulations.
d. Notwithstanding the
provisions of a tariff in effect on the effective date of this section,
commencing 60 days after the effective date of this section, an electric public
utility shall not assess a demand charge, subscription charge, or other non-volumetric
tariff structure on a direct current fast charging facility, unless the board
has approved the utility's tariff application submitted pursuant to this
section, and only to the extent that the approved tariff utilizes such a
non-volumetric structure.
e. As used in this section:
"Board" means the Board of Public Utilities.
"Direct current fast charging facility" means a location that provides commercial access to a DC fast charger, as that term is defined in section 2 of P.L.2019, c.362 (C.48:25-2).
"Electric public utility" means the same as the term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-51).
"Load factor" means the quotient of the electrical energy consumed in a designated time period and the hypothetical maximum energy use in that time period, determined by multiplying the peak demand rate by the duration of the time period.
"PJM" means the same as the term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-51).
"PJM capacity market" means the annual auction carried out by PJM for contracts to provide electrical power needed to meet predicted energy demand three years in the future.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require each electric utility in the State to submit a tariff for commercial customers to the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) for approval. The tariffs are to be submitted no later than 180 days after the bill's enactment, and that are to be designed to: (1) utilize alternatives to both traditional demand-based rate structures and capacity demand charges; (2) establish cost equity between commercial electric vehicle tariffs and residential tariffs; (3) remain neutral with respect to the various types of electric vehicle charging technology; (4) accelerate third-party investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles; and (5) promote electric vehicle adoption in the State. The tariffs would also need to satisfy other requirements enumerated in the bill. The BPU would be required to expeditiously review and approve each tariff submitted under the bill, in accordance with the provisions of the "Energy Discount and Energy Competition Act," P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-49 et al.).
The bill would prohibit an electric utility from charging certain fees to the operators of certain electric vehicle charging stations until the utility receives approval of its tariff from the BPU, pursuant to the bill's provisions. Specifically, beginning 60 days after the bill's enactment, the bill would prohibit an electric utility from imposing a demand charge, subscription charge, or other non-volumetric tariff structure on a direct current fast charging facility, unless the BPU has approved the utility's tariff application under the bill, and only to the extent that the approved tariff utilizes such a rate structure. A "direct current fast charging facility" is defined, by the bill, as a location that provides commercial access to a type of electric vehicle charging station known as a "direct current fast charger," a "DCFC," or "Level 3 charger," which provides at least 50 kilowatts of direct electrical current to a vehicle's battery.
