Rock Springs Taxpayer Funded EV Charging Station?

This one made me do a double take.

The city of Rock Springs had an EV charging station that was — wait for it — free. As in, pull up, plug in, power up, and taxpayers pick up the tab.

What?

Hey, Rock Springs mayor and city council — is there a free gas pump sitting next to it? A free diesel pump? Can the rest of us just roll up and say, “Fill ’er up, put it on the public”?

Didn’t think so.

Here’s where this rubs folks the wrong way. When you fill up at a gas station, you’re paying fuel taxes. Those taxes go toward maintaining the roads you’re driving on. That’s the deal. But if someone plugs into a “free” city charger and doesn’t pay any comparable tax, they’re still using the roads — just not helping pay for them.

How is that fair?

Electricity isn’t free to produce. Doesn’t matter if it comes from coal, gas, wind, or solar — somebody pays. In this case, it was the local taxpayer.

Now, before anyone fires off an angry email, yes — the charger is coming down. But not for the reasons some might hope.

According to a city notice, Rock Springs is discontinuing the charger in part because the city would now be required to pay tax on the electricity it gives away. There’s just one problem: the unit can’t track how much electricity each vehicle uses.

Matt McBurnett, the city’s director of administrative services, wrote in a memo that because the charging unit cannot track or quantify the electricity dispensed per vehicle, the city has no way to calculate or remit the required tax. So, down it comes.

I have to admit, I’m surprised this didn’t spark more public pushback sooner — unless most folks didn’t even know it was there.

And while we’re asking questions: Why do governments subsidize EV charging stations, but you’ve never seen a subsidy to build the gas station on the corner?

If we’re going to talk about fairness, let’s actually talk about it.

In the meantime, Rock Springs’ free ride is officially over.