Americans are accustomed to refueling vehicles at any of the 128,000 convenience store gas stations around the country. A pit stop may include a bathroom break, snack, and in pre-GPS days, an employee who could offer directions.
But charging an electric vehicle (EV) is a completely different experience. Charging stations are often unmanned and found in parking lots, far from snacks and bathrooms.
Convenience stores are the perfect place for EV chargers, Trevor Walter, vice president of petroleum supply management for Sheetz Inc., told the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture last year during a hearing titled “The Implications of Electric Vehicle Investments for Agriculture and Rural America.”
“Our industry’s locations are purposely visible. People already have established patterns using [gas stations] and we typically show the prices of fuels we offer on large signs that motorists can see as they are driving,” Walter said, speaking on behalf of the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS). “When drivers are able to readily see that they can get electricity the same way, and in the same place as they refuel now, range anxiety will no longer be an impediment to the purchase of the vehicle.”
Yet convenience stores are not fully charged about adding EV infrastructure because government regulations guiding the sale of power allows for scant profits. Walter listed three specifics.
Some states prohibit businesses from selling electricity to vehicle drivers. In those states, only electric utilities are allowed to do that. In these states, businesses rent EV chargers and consumers pay for time on the charger instead of paying directly for electricity.
Many utilities have had rates adjusted upwards, charging customers more, and using the funds to build utility-owned EV chargers. This creates an uneven playing field that can prevent a competitive market from emerging, Walter testified.
Other businesses building EV chargers must recover construction and operating costs from vehicle drivers directly. And utilities charge commercial electricity users, including gas stations, such as convenience and fuel retailers with “demand charges.” The higher the demand, the higher the fee.
“Given the large electricity demands associated with fast chargers, these demand charges overwhelm the cost of electricity and make it impossible for retailers to sell electricity and make a profit,” Walter said.
The sale of electricity must be changed for the retail market can get in the game, he indicated.
If there is a will to reduce barriers to businesses entering the EV charging market, it will happen at the state level, Ryan McKinnon of Charge Ahead Partnership (CAP) told The Epoch Times. CAP is a coalition of businesses, associations, and individuals who aim to develop a nationwide EV charging network.
“Under current policies, these locations at gas stations and convenience stores can’t get into the market,” McKinnon said. “No rational business owner would get into the EV charging market if they know they’re going to have to compete against a government-sanctioned monopoly.”
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