Wisconsin to Expand Statewide EV Charging Network

Wisconsin has passed two bills allowing for the development of a statewide charging network. The bipartisan bills, Wisconsin Acts 121 and 122 (2023), were signed into law by Governor Tony Evers on March 20.

As reported by the Wisconsin State Journal, the laws allow the state to utilize about $78 million of federal funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program. The funding will go toward increasing the number of charging stations along major state highways and interstates.

“We don’t have to choose between protecting our environment and natural resources or creating good-paying jobs and infrastructure to meet the needs of a 21st-Century economy — in Wisconsin, we’re doing both,” Evers said in a press release. “Expanding EV charging infrastructure is a critical part of our work to ensure Wisconsin is ready to compete and build the future we want for our kids — one that is cleaner, more sustainable, and more efficient. Thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re ready to get to work.”

The federal funding goes toward Level 3 chargers, or fast-chargers, that can recharge EVs in an hour or less, The Associated Press reported. While the federal government recommends that charging stations along Alternate Fuel Corridors (AFCs) be placed no more than 50 miles apart, the secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Craig Thompson, noted that the expanded state EV charging network will be spaced apart by 25 miles or less to better support the increased demand for electric vehicles.

“WisDOT is ready to activate the federal funding and help industry quickly build fast chargers across the state,” Thompson said. “Electric vehicle drivers in Wisconsin will soon be able to travel about 85 percent of our state highway system and never be more than 25 miles away from a charger.”

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Act 121 allows businesses, like gas stations or other businesses along the charging network, to sell electricity for charging by kilowatt hours rather than the amount of time charged, creating more incentive for businesses to join the network. The former law required businesses that had EV charging stations to be regulated like a public utility company, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.

The state will charge an excise tax of $0.03 per kilowatt hour of electricity sold at all new charging stations and any existing level 3 charging stations. Existing level 1 and level 2 charging stations will not be charged the excise tax, and the excise tax does not apply to residential level 3 chargers, according to the bill.

As The Associated Press reported, the state currently has around 580 chargers available to the public, and the newly signed bills will support the addition of 65 fast-charging stations.