State regulators have issued a policy they say will encourage more private investment in electric vehicle charging stations in Louisiana – and limit competition from utility companies.

The Louisiana Public Service Commission on Wednesday approved a rule designed to encourage private investment in the electric vehicle charging station market. The state’s major energy providers will be prohibited from owning, leasing, operating or controlling electric vehicle charging stations using their customers’ money.

The Commission voted unanimously to introduce the rule, which is accompanied by a bipartisan bill The Louisiana State Legislature passed an ordinance in 2022 calling on the commission to adopt measures that would create a market for electric vehicle charging based on competition and free market principles.

Many electric vehicle advocates and entrepreneurs have been calling for such a rule for years, arguing that it would allow small businesses and retailers to invest in electric vehicle charging stations, safe in the knowledge that monopolistic electric utilities would not use the money collected from their customers to unfairly compete against the private market.

Based on 2023 data, Louisiana ranks second worst in the country for the lack of charging stations for electric vehicles: there is one charger per 9,144 inhabitants. This is a weak figure compared to the national average of one charger per 2,280 inhabitants.

The Charge Ahead Partnership, a coalition of individuals, businesses and associations committed to expanding access to the nationwide electric vehicle charging market, welcomed the Public Service Commission’s decision.

“The LPSC today sent a clear message to the investors, entrepreneurs, small businesses and retailers who will build Louisiana’s electric vehicle charging station market: Louisiana is open for business,” said Jay Smith, executive director of the partnership, in a press release. “Regulated utilities in other states have discouraged investment by forcing their customers to subsidize utility-owned charging stations. Today’s ruling will not only attract investment, but also protect all of Louisiana’s utility customers.”

The ruling allows providers of electric vehicle charging stations to generate the electricity needed for their stations themselves, for example through solar panels. Previously, a charging station could have been regulated as a utility if it generated electricity.

The decision did not trigger any objections from the utility companies or other attendees on Wednesday.

Last year, the Public Services Commission issued related orders allowing non-utilities to resell electricity on a per kilowatt-hour basis and instructed all electricity suppliers under its jurisdiction to propose wholesale prices for electric vehicle charging, a move touted as an important step in giving electric vehicle charging station operators an idea of ​​their electricity costs.

Regulated utilities like Entergy and Cleco are still allowed to operate charging stations, but must do so through a separate, unregulated subsidiary that does not touch consumers’ money.

Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas and Georgia have all passed similar laws.

Wednesday’s decision could increase pressure on the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to spend the $73 million it received two years ago under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program. NEVI is a product of the bipartisan infrastructure bill Congress passed in 2021. While states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and others have already built some electric vehicle charging stations, Louisiana has been slow to spend its share.