## Facts

- The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) opened a commission inquiry to examine electric vehicle (EV) charging and charging infrastructure in Minnesota and to consider the appropriate role of regulated electric utilities.
- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) reported that greenhouse-gas emissions from Minnesota’s transportation sector had not materially declined, affecting the state’s ability to meet greenhouse-gas-reduction goals.
- The MPCA and the MPUC viewed increased EV adoption as a means to reduce transportation emissions and address climate change.
- The MPUC issued a discussion document describing potential public-interest benefits of EV adoption, including reduced pollutants from fossil-fuel vehicles (with associated public-health gains).
- The MPUC also identified possible ratepayer advantages from EV charging load: increased electricity sales could spread utilities’ fixed costs across more kilowatt-hours sold, placing downward pressure on rates.
- The MPUC acknowledged barriers to broader EV adoption, including insufficient charging infrastructure—especially non-home charging that supports longer trips—and customer concerns about driving range.
- The MPUC described a relationship between infrastructure availability and consumer awareness: more visible and available charging stations could remind consumers about EVs and signal that EV travel is practical.
- The MPUC noted possible electric-grid impacts from widespread EV charging, especially if charging occurs during peak demand periods, which could increase system stress and drive additional infrastructure needs.
- The MPUC discussed utility rate design as a tool to encourage off-peak charging and, where feasible, align charging with hours when wind generation is high, reducing grid impacts and limiting the need for new generation or distribution investments.
- The MPUC also considered whether rate design could encourage electrification of public and private fleets, and whether utilities had a responsibility to support EV adoption through public education and charging-infrastructure development.

## Issues

1. Whether increased EV adoption and related charging infrastructure serve the public interest within Minnesota’s public-utility regulatory framework.
2. Whether, and to what extent, regulated electric utilities may participate in EV-related activities such as customer education, charging-infrastructure development, and EV-specific rate offerings.
3. How utility rate design and program structure can address grid impacts from EV charging, including peak-demand effects, while keeping rates just and reasonable.

## Decision

- The MPUC determined that transportation electrification, including increased EV adoption, is in the public interest.
- The MPUC recognized that EV adoption can yield public-health and environmental gains through reduced vehicle emissions and can provide economic value to ratepayers by improving utility system utilization and spreading fixed costs.
- The MPUC identified gaps in charging infrastructure and consumer awareness as constraints on EV adoption and treated charging visibility and availability as factors that can increase consumer confidence in EVs.
- The MPUC concluded that utilities can have an affirmative role in supporting EV adoption, including through education efforts, charging-infrastructure initiatives, and EV-specific rates designed to guide charging away from peak hours.
- The MPUC indicated that off-peak and time-sensitive pricing can mitigate grid impacts and can align charging with periods of higher renewable generation, potentially reducing the need for additional utility infrastructure.
- In the commission inquiry docket, the MPUC directed utility planning and reporting related to transportation electrification so that EV growth, charging impacts, and proposed utility actions could be evaluated through ongoing Commission oversight.

## Legal Principles

- A state public utilities commission may treat transportation electrification as consistent with the public interest when the record shows environmental and public-health gains and plausible ratepayer value from increased electricity sales and improved system utilization.
- Utility participation in EV charging infrastructure and customer programs may be authorized as part of regulated service when subject to Commission review, including evaluation of rate impacts, cost recovery, and protections for non-participating customers.
- Rate design is a primary regulatory tool to manage EV charging load; pricing that encourages off-peak charging can reduce peak-demand stress and lower the likelihood of near-term generation or distribution buildout tied to EV charging.
- The Commission may require utility filings (planning and reporting) in a generic investigatory docket to ensure that EV-related utility actions remain consistent with reliability, just and reasonable rates, and stated public-interest objectives.

## Conclusion

In this commission inquiry, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission found that EV adoption and transportation electrification serve the public interest and identified utility education, charging-infrastructure activity, and EV-focused rate design as permissible tools to increase EV use while managing grid impacts, supported by continuing Commission oversight through required planning and reporting.


In the Matter of a Commission Inquiry into Electric Vehicle Charging and Infrastructure, 2019 WL 446228 (2019)