Who pays for EV chargers? Utility board member wants drivers, not ratepayers, to foot the bill

LOS ALAMOS — The Board of Public Utilities approved its agenda 5-0 at a Nov. 4 work session (@18:55) and kept work moving on on-bill financing, power-market changes and electric-vehicle charging fees.

Utilities staff recommended a request for information on funders and program operators and a check of whether a USDA zero-interest REST loan fits New Mexico's legal framework (@29:00). Chair Robert B Gibson said, "I think we ought to continue to explore it" (@40:55).

On the Extended Day-Ahead Market, a regional wholesale market where Western utilities buy and sell power a day in advance, Eric Stromberg said, "I'm kind of uneasy about all this. Are we being forced into this?" (@1:29:40). Staff said the state's largest electric utility, Public Service Company of New Mexico, is joining voluntarily, and the county follows as a customer of its transmission lines.

Staff is not recommending an EV charging rate change after the May 20, 2026 increase (level 2 at $0.25 per kWh and level 3 at $0.63) and plans another look in May 2027 (@2:03:45). Stromberg said, "I for one think that the EVSEs need to pay for themselves" (@2:13:30). He asked whether ratepayers, the homes and businesses that pay county electric bills, are covering the chargers' losses, and staff said they eventually are (@2:14:44). Stromberg said that at the May review he wants fees raised so EV drivers, not ratepayers, pay for the stations (@2:15:34).

Deputy Utility Manager Dennis Astley estimated that burying power lines in town would cost almost $1.6 million a mile, before homeowners pay a consultant-estimated $6,000 to $10,000 each to convert their service lines (@2:40:37). Members floated ways to cut costs and fold undergrounding into long-term grid upgrades, but the board took no action and set no date to return to the issue (@3:17:31). There was no public comment. A board self-evaluation returns for formal acceptance in two weeks.