Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight:

Atlantic City Electric is the first utility in the state to file a petition to broaden the scope of public and private plug-in vehicle-charging stations in its territory, a crucial first step that advocates consider key to achieving a cleaner transportation sector.


The utility, in a filing Friday with the state Board of Public Utilities, is seeking to spend $14.9 million to focus on barriers deterring customers from buying electric vehicles, most prominently range anxiety or the worry that their cars will run out of power without finding a place to recharge.


The petition, involving a suite of programs to incent customers to switch to plug-in cars, includes an innovative proposal to establish lower household-electricity rates for those who charge vehicles and defer other energy use to off-peak hours when costs are lower.


The transportation sector accounts for about 46 percent of the energy-related greenhouse-gas emissions in New Jersey. Without steep reductions in emissions from cars, the state will never achieve ambitious goals to reduce the carbon pollution that contributes to climate change, according to state officials.


Lack of public charging stations
The state’s four electric utilities have been encouraged by the BPU to come up with programs that help build out the infrastructure for electric vehicles. Clean-energy advocates say the lack of public charging stations hinders widespread adoption of electric vehicles.


“These programs both incentivize customers to pursue an EV (electric vehicle) option as their next vehicle purchase and provide them with the peace of mind that new charging options will be available to meet their fueling needs across South Jersey,” said Vincent Maione, Atlantic City Electric region president.


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