Montana Lawmakers Pass Legislation Allowing Utility Participation in Electric Vehicle Market

The Montana legislature on April 8 approved a bill that aims to expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the state by allowing utilities to sell power to private entities operating charging stations in their service territories. The bill would also determine that these operators are not public utilities. (HB 456)

Under the legislation, charges pertaining to supply electric vehicles may not be based on the cost of electricity. Any rate for providing electric service to a charging station would be designed by state regulators to fully recover the cost of providing the service from the charging station customer without subsidization from other customers or customer classes.