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48 Colum. J. Env't L. 1 (2022-2023)

handle is hein.journals/cjel48 and id is 1 raw text is: Rate Base the Charge Space: The Law of Utility EV Infrastructure Investment Adam D. Orford* To fight climate change and support the transition to a zero- emissions transportation sector, the United States is setting out to build a huge fleet of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. But EV charging infrastructure-often called EV supply equipment (EVSE)-is expensive, and how to pay for it is not straightforward. This Article explores the emerging law and policy of using the bill payments of millions of electric utility customers to solve the problem. State utility regulators, in obscure technical proceedings, have begun directing billions of ratepayer dollars toward EVSE. Is this an unfair and risky social spending experiment, as its opponents argue? Or is it a sensible economic investment that will save ratepayers money, even while responding strategically to shifting market conditions, supporting domestic manufacturing, and achieving environmental goals, as its proponents contend? State regulators, one by one, have been reaching the same conclusion: The environmental, energy, and economic policy considerations are aligned, and the ratepayer funding approach makes sense, provided appropriate ratepayer protections are in place. To shine a light on these developments, this Article presents the findings of a fifty-state (plus D.C. and Puerto Rico) review of regulatory proceedings, revealing the full extent of authorized utility spending, the wide variety of EVSE investment program elements, the broad range of reasoning that regulators have found persuasive, and the protections that regulators have put in place to ensure ratepayer benefit. The Article demonstrates that support for utility EV infrastructure spending is not the sole province of states with progressive climate politics; that new federal funding is augmenting, but not displacing, utility investment; and that public utilities commissions have concluded that Assistant Professor, University of Georgia School of Law. J.D., M.P.P., Ph.D. Many thanks to Sydney Brogden, Cole Harper, and Anna Scartz, who provided invaluable research assistance on this project; to the participants of the online environmental law scholarship workshop- particularly Michael Pappas, Heather Payne, and Sonya Ziaja-for their insightful comments on the project; and to former California Public Utilities Commissioner Carla J. Peterman and former CPUC Energy Division analyst Noel Crisostomo for their leadership on these policies, and the opportunity to work with and learn from them. 1