ICC approves Ameren Illinois electric vehicle charging tariff

Last week, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) officially approved an electric vehicle charging tariff proposed by Ameren Illinois, giving the company a means to support the development of charging station installation and promote electric vehicle adoption. 

The program will focus on central and southern Illinois, building up the company’s charging infrastructure and rolling out a mix of special time-based delivery service rates and other incentives to encourage EV expansion. According to Ameren Illinois, the former could be of great service to Illinois, where there are presently fewer than 60 public available charging stations. The more stations, the greater the range and capability of electric vehicles. 

“A common barrier that people identify when considering EV ownership is range anxiety, the concern that a charging station will not be available during extended road travel,” Richard Mark, chairman and president of Ameren Illinois, said. “This tariff will help address this concern by providing rate incentives and supplemental line extension allowances that will improve accessibility to in-home and on-the-road charging infrastructure.” 

In all, the electric vehicle charging program consists of six aspects: 

• Single Family Residential Charging, with a special delivery service rate for at-home charging during non-peak hours.
• Multi-Family Residential Charging, offering a special delivery service rate and supplemental line extension allowance to property owners who install charging facilities on their multi-family facilities. This also includes extra allowances for low-income areas.
• Education Facility Charging, which offers special delivery service rates and incentives for electric school bus operators.
• Transit Facility Charging, with special delivery service rates and incentives for customers operating public electric transit buses.
• Corridor Charging, which incentivizes property owners and third parties to install public fast charging stations in predetermined areas along transportation corridors.
• Non-Corridor Fast DC Charging, providing rate incentives to encourage the installation of public fast charging throughout Ameren Illinois’ territory.

These new rate options will open to customers in the fall.