Lead, follow or get out of the way

Rather than attempting to pick the winners and losers when it comes to emerging technologies, the Wisconsin legislature should let the market decide.

In a classic case of bait and switch politics, legislation intended to help private business expand the number of electric vehicle charging stations in the state could end up having the opposite effect.

The bill, as originally introduced, would clarify the ability of businesses to charge consumers for charging their electric vehicles based either on time or energy used. As bills go, this one appeared to be a no-brainer. It makes sense that someone who invests in building a charging station should be able to profit from that investment through an upcharge on the product being provided. The utility company, much like the gasoline supplier at a traditional service station, gets the lion’s share of the revenue.

Unfortunately, rather than passing a clean bill, the politics of protecting profiteering investor-owned utilities has gotten in the mix with amendments tagged on that prohibit businesses setting up solar-powered charging stations and seeks to outlaw public entities from running for-profit charging stations. This is a rare two-for-one deal that seeks to put the screws to both rural and urban consumers.

The first is solely to protect the interests of investor-owned utilities who have fought any expansion of disbursed generation. This is a direct blow to free market efforts to get charging stations in more rural and remote areas where it is not cost-effective to build and maintain new power lines.

The second seeks to prevent communities from installing charging stations in public parking lots and parking ramps. Being able to plug in and recharge an electric vehicle while someone is at work would be a tremendous attraction to a community as would charging stations at state parks, campgrounds and elsewhere. Putting charging stations in requires investment and upkeep. It only makes sense that municipalities be able to collect revenue from the use of the stations. The side benefit would be creating a revenue stream that could help pay for the maintenance of roads and other infrastructure without relying solely on taxpayers.

Electric vehicles, long the domain of science fiction, are here. Major automotive manufacturers already have electric vehicles in their lineup with plans to expand those offerings into all segments of the automotive marketplace.

Rather than creating arbitrary rules and attempting to protect the profits of investor-owned utilities, the legislature would do better to pass laws that encourage entrepreneurship and investment in building the needed infrastructure.

In the words of Bob Dylan, “[T]he times they are a-changin’’” and it is time for Wisconsin legislators to step aside and let free enterprise determine what is viable.

If the Wisconsin legislature is unwilling or unable to lead in preparing the state for the expansion of electric vehicles, it should get out of the way.