In the current limited-experimental model the PUC in California was willing to charge $24 million to all electrical customers to pay for infrastructure upgrades for public car chargers.
Essentially each California electric customer paid out $2 to subsidize public car chargers for electric car snobs. But this is profoundly unfair for a larger build-out.
If someone wants to create a business operating a chain of electric car charging stations, why should you be paying their business infrastructure costs with a higher home electric bill?
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You don't pay a higher monthly electric bill when someone builds a new subdivision or a new factory because the builder pays for A and B.
A.) The electric company will measure the distance from the nearest power pole to the house location - the greater the distance, the more wire, trenching, etc., the greater the cost. They'll typically give you a certain distance for free, and you pay the overage;
B.) If they need to install a new transformer to service your new subdivision or apartment building, the builder pays for that.
If your new home is half a mile from the power line, that will run you about $24,000 to $44,000 depending on whether there's already enough transformer capacity at the hook-up point.When you bought your home or condo these "offsite costs" were already included in the purchase price of the home along with the offsite charges to install the water, sewer, and gas lines to the building site.
For a guy building a commercial business like a shopping center or a fast car-charging station this cost will be closer to $220,000 to $500,000.
You want to pay for that in your residential electric bill? Or you'd rather pay higher income taxes to subsidize his new business?
If you want a really fast car charger at your home . . . . you'll be paying for those infrastructure costs yourself because you'd need to upgrade to 3-phase 220 volt needing a new drop-line and new 3-phase 220 volt transformer on the pole. In a commercial district, 3-phase is already included in the build-out. Or you'll pay someone else to arrange this. chargepoint.com
If lots of your neighbors want 2-phase as well, the power company will need to run an additional 18,000 volt line to your residential neighborhood and they'll roll that cost into everyone's monthly infrastructure bill because that upgrade supported the service of a large enough number of customers. |
