In Support of Electric Vehicles
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Resolution 18-03
Sponsors: Sacramento Municipal Utility District; ElectriCities of North Carolina; Colorado Springs Utilities; Idaho Falls Power; Salt River Project; Austin Energy; CPS Energy; Energy Northwest; Seattle City Light; Snohomish County Public Utility District; Tacoma Public Utilities; Chelan County Public Utility District; Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Public power utilities see great promise in the electrification of the transportation sector, particularly electric vehicle (EV) adoption and EV charging infrastructure deployment. The electrification of vehicles will benefit communities in a variety of ways including improved air quality from reduced emissions of pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide. It will also reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the transportation sector and diversify fuel sources for vehicles. EVs offer an environmentally-beneficial source of load growth and an opportunity to demonstrate environmental stewardship. Given the economic and environmental benefits of electrification, public power utilities across the United States are eager to promote EV adoption.
Public power is ideally positioned to partner with the auto industry, EV owners, municipal and private vehicle fleets, car sharing companies, and communities to offer products and services that encourage EV adoption and provide convenient and grid-friendly vehicle charging options. Many public power utilities have found that investments in charging infrastructure, customer education, and designed rates and incentives encourage EV adoption. The ability of public power utilities to make these investments will depend on continued support for EVs at the federal level.
The federal government, through the adoption of tax and environmental policies, has sought to incent EV development and adoption. EV owners receive federal income tax credits when they purchase their vehicles. Manufacturers benefit from corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards that can be met by including EVs in the fleet-wide average. The elimination of tax credits promoting EV adoption or the weakening of CAFE standards could discourage further investments in EVs just as electric utilities are realizing the benefits of transportation electrification to optimize electric grid infrastructure, improve management of electric loads, and integrate renewable resources.
Both the electric and transportation sectors are impacted by regulatory and customer demands to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. While the challenges for the transportation sector are different, consumers’ support for reducing emissions is growing annually. The electric sector is responding to consumer demand, making strides in its own carbon dioxide reduction efforts, and poised to assist the transportation sector’s move toward the use of electricity as a more environmentally friendly transportation fuel. Electrification of vehicles will enable public power utilities to help reduce air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions and support growing customer demand for EVs while increasing electricity sales and moderating rate pressures.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: That the American Public Power Association (APPA) supports policies that incent production and deployment of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, including tax incentives, a robust national vehicle emissions standards program that incorporates state authorities, and improving average fuel economy standards for cars and light-duty trucks; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That APPA urges Congress to consider the benefits of increased electric vehicle deployment when evaluating transportation or energy policy.