The makers of electric vehicles in the U.S. are interjecting their input on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission’s proposed rules governing commercial EV chargers along the state’s highways and asking for a delay in the implementation of them.
Their main argument is a July 1, 2022 deadline for DC metering requirements proposed in the draft rules that will be considered this week by the regulators.
The objection was raised in a joint filing with the commission this week by ABB, Alliance for Automotive Innovation, BTC Power, Electrify America, EVBox, EVConnect, EVgo, Francis Energy, Greenlots, SemaConnect, Siemens, Rivian, Tesla and Tritium.
“We are concerned with the unintended consequences of what is being proposed in these rules that could dampen the continued EV infrastructure deployment in Oklahoma,” stated the developers. Their filing was aimed at the DRIVE Act as approved this year by the Oklahoma legislature which directed the Corporation Commission with the responsibility of collecting taxes on commercial EV chargers.
The EV industry firms outlined their concerns with two elements of the requirements—the implementation timeline and the application of the proposed metering standards given current technology limitations.
The EV makers and others point out that “given the nascent EV industry and the evolving charging technology, the tentative code (as drawn up in the National Institute of Standards and Technology) continues to be modified.
California is the only state to implement new AC or alternating current electric vehicle supply equipment while DC meter technology, according to the EV filing, is still being developed at scale. The industry told regulators in the filing that there is limited type certification available for EV charging stations outside the California Type Evaluation program process for AC stations.
They claim that requiring all charging stations already deployed in Oklahoma over the past decade to meet a National Type Evaluation Program standard would force Oklahoma small business to either remove the existing equipment or replace many stations.
The Joint EV parties asked in their filing that the July 1, 2022 implementation timeline be extended to January 31, 2024.
“We urge the OCC to provide additional time to further develop this regulation to ensure there are not unintended consequences that could halt or limit private and public investment in EV charging infrastructure in Oklahoma,” stated the Joint EV filing.
Corporation Commissioners will meet Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m. to review the draft rules.