North Carolina Looks to Remove Public EV Chargers, Probably to the Trash

[G_j]

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a40543385/north-carolina-wants-remove-free-public-ev-chargers/?utm_campaign=socialflowTWCD&src=socialflowTW&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social-media&fbclid=IwAR0C4hcgAnNxcg7_N6LIqyxauaFTF1sYADx69GRjJ11ZmI_yr8ummWR65sQ

North Carolina Looks to Remove Public EV Chargers, Probably to the Trash

A bill currently in the works in the North Carolina legislature would allocate $50,000 to get rid of free public EV chargers unless free gas pumps are built alongside.

BY EZRA DYER
JUL 7, 2022

Politicians have to run on some kind of platform, and Ben Moss—my incoming state House representative here in North Carolina's District 52—decided that his animating principle is Being Mad at Electricity. To prove his animosity toward this invisible menace, he's sponsoring House Bill 1049, which would allocate $50,000 to destroy free public car chargers. It contains some other enlightened ideas, but that's the main theme: We've simply got to do something about these free public chargers, even if it costs us $50,000! Those things cost tens of cents per hour, when they're being used.

Of course, there's a caveat here. Moss isn't saying that free public Level 2 chargers—of which there are three in my town, with plans in the works to convert to paid kiosks—definitely need to get crushed by a monster truck. That rule only comes into play if a town refuses to build free gas and diesel pumps next to the EV chargers. So anyway, warm up El Toro Loco, we're smashin' some car zappers!


But what about private businesses? you ask. Don't worry, Moss hasn't forgotten that a business might put a charger on its property as an inducement for EV owners to patronize the establishment. And small business is the heart of the local economy. That's why he's staying out of the way when it comes to private property. Just kidding! Ben Moss cares about the consumers being harmed by these hypothetical free chargers—namely, any customer who arrived via internal-combustion vehicle, or on foot, or in a sedan chair. Why is someone else gaining some advantage based on a decision they made? That's not how life works.

Thus, House Bill 1049 decrees that all customer receipts will have to show what share of the bill went toward the charger out in the lot. That way, anyone who showed up for dinner in an F-150 (not the electric one) can get mad that their jalapeño poppers helped pay for a business expense not directly related to them. It's the same way you demand to know how much Applebee's spends to keep the lights on in its parking lot overnight, when you're not there. Sure, this will be an accounting nightmare, but it'll all be worth it if we can prevent even one person from adding 16 miles of charge to a Nissan Leaf while eating a bloomin' onion—not that restaurants around here have free chargers, but you can't be too careful. Now, there is a charger at the neighborhood Ford dealership, which is marking up Broncos by $20,000. Coincidence? I think not.

….

[elleng]

1. 'unless free gas pumps are built alongside.'

[Eliot Rosewater]

2. Adults want green, cons (children) dont, for THAT reason, because the adults want it.

BTW "The Man Who Fell To Earth" on Showtime has a very interesting comment about what if someone solved the energy problem overnight.

Eliminating the need for oil.

The ramifications short term would be rough, economies would fail, etc. Good show.

[Victor_c3]

13. That was one weird movie

The only part I remember was the scene where David Bowie and the leading female actress pee their pants

[Novara]

3. You can't just plunk an underground storage tank anywhere

For fuck's sake. Gasoline storage, refilling of tanks, and dispensing is a major, major MAJOR red tape bureaucratic mess. A dispenser pump is useless without an underground tank full of fuel. And you can't put one in the ground just anywhere. Have they thought of that? Of course not.

Scoring stupid political points and showing world how dumb they really are: it's republican ethos.

[LiberalArkie]

5. The way I read it, if there isn't a free petrol pump, there can't be an electric charger

[Whiskeytide]

11. He doesn't actually WANT to put gas pumps ...

… alongside the EV chargers. That’s the beauty of his little game. It was never anything other than a bullshit political play to help persuade stupid people to vote for him. And they did. Because they’re stupid.

[Novara]

12. I don't get wasting time on grievance legislation

Wouldn't it be great if we could charge them with malfeasance? Maybe state constitutions need to state that legislative bills need to be serious. I mean, we taxpayers are paying them to waste time on this shit.

[RANDYWILDMAN]

4. Equal protection for Gas ?

Are you kidding me ?

EV sustainable

Gas/oil not sustainable, a limited resource

Are these people gonna end up riding dinosaurs ?

[underpants]

6. How f'ing stupid and petty

[Freddie]

7. Friend of mine just drove from PA to NC in a Tesla

Commented on how plentiful and convenient the charging stations were in NC!
R’s just HAVE to go out of their way to be assholes.

[mnhtnbb]

8. There's a free charging station at the branch library

closest to my house in Durham, NC

https://www.dconc.gov/county-departments/departments-a-e/engineering-and-environmental-services/sustainability-office/electric-vehicle-charging-stations

Fu*k Republicans.

[unc70]

9. If passed, Gov Cooper would veto

Posturing by Repubs nullified

[G_j]

10. There is no doubt

Cooper would veto.

[Kid Berwyn]

14. Not to Being Mad at Electricity

[DFW]

15. I just told this to my wife. She thought it was from a satire magazine

She couldn’t believe it was serious. She was laughing at “the humor writer’s joke.” It’s the sort of thing Andy Borowitz would think up.