If you own a building or a parking lot and want drivers to pay for the electricity they use, you are close to a rule that is older than EVs: only a regulated utility may resell electricity. Most states have said that a business selling EV charging is not selling electricity in that sense. Some say it only for public charging, and several still restrict how a landlord bills tenants. This article sorts out which structure sits where, and what the primary sources say in eight states. It is not legal advice; confirm your own facts with counsel or your state utility commission.
Three ways to get paid for the electricity
Pass the utility cost through to a tenant. The landlord pays the bill and recovers the EV portion by a flat monthly amount, an allocation, or a submeter reading. This is the structure resale and submetering rules were written for, so it carries the most legal risk.
Sell a charging session. The host or an operator charges the driver per kWh or per session through a networked charger. Many states have written that this is a service, not a sale of electricity, which is the footing most public and workplace charging stands on. The pricing mechanics are in Pricing Commercial EV Charging.
Let a network operator be the seller. Under a charging-as-a-service or turnkey deal, the operator contracts with the driver and the host is paid a lease or revenue share. That moves the billing relationship off the landlord, which can help, but it does not erase a rule that applies to the property itself. See Charging-as-a-Service Contract Terms and Own, Operate, Turnkey or Hybrid.
What eight states' primary sources say
Each row reflects statute, rule or order text read on November 2, 2026, unless marked secondary, which means we confirmed it only through a federal summary or an agency press release.
| State | Is EV charging a utility sale? | Billing limits that matter |
|---|
| Ohio | The Supreme Court held on April 22, 2026 that a third party reselling power to apartment tenants is a public utility. The opinion does not mention EV charging. A 2020 PUCO finding (secondary) held an EV charging provider is not an electric light company. | A landlord who simply passes on electricity costs as a convenience, so that resale is "completely ancillary," stays outside the utility definition; a company whose business is resale does not. |
| Massachusetts | The Department of Public Utilities (DPU) held in 2014 (secondary) that an EV charging operator is not a public utility. | The DPU's published position is that electric submetering is prohibited as resale. Electricity can be included in rent but not separately charged by usage. We found no source reconciling the ban with per-kWh charging at apartments. |
| New York | The Public Service Commission ruled in 2013 that publicly available stations are outside its jurisdiction, and that a per-kWh price does not change that. | Parking facilities may redistribute power to EV stations, with or without submetering, without Commission approval (16 NYCRR 96.2(d)). Residential unit submetering needs authorization and is capped at the utility's residential rate. |
| Maryland | Public Utilities Article 1-101 excludes owners and operators of EV charging equipment from "electricity supplier" and "public service company." | We found no EV-specific pricing cap or submetering rule. |
| Texas | PURA 31.002 excludes a person who operates equipment used solely to provide EV charging service from "electric utility" and "retail electric provider." | Chapter 184 limits apartment submetering to the owner's per-kWh utility cost for dwelling units. The text addresses dwelling consumption, not chargers, and we did not find a ruling on how it applies to them. |
| Illinois | 220 ILCS 5/3-105(c): an entity furnishing EV charging "does not and shall not be deemed to sell electricity." | The tenant charging law (765 ILCS 1085/35) covers tenant-requested chargers. It lets a landlord recover, among other things, the actual cost of electricity, a reasonable access fee (which can include a network fee) and installation costs. A willful violation carries actual damages plus a civil penalty of up to $1,000 to the tenant. |
| Pennsylvania | A PUC policy statement (52 Pa. Code 69.3501) says sales by a non-utility that owns and operates a charging facility for the sole purpose of recharging vehicles are not residential sales subject to the resale price cap in 66 Pa.C.S. 1313. | That is a policy statement, not a binding rule. The statute caps a non-utility reseller's residential bill at what the utility would charge. |
| Delaware | The PSC deregulated EV charging stations and providers in December 2019 (secondary, from the Commission's press release). | We did not read the order or find a no-markup rule. |
One caution on the table. California's Civil Code 1947.6 requires a landlord to approve a qualifying tenant's request for a charger and has the tenant pay the electricity cost as part of rent, with no metering method or price cap stated. Other states have their own tenant-charging statutes, so check yours.
The Ohio ruling, read carefully
In Ohio Power Co. v. Nationwide Energy Partners, 2026-Ohio-1406, the Ohio Supreme Court reversed the Public Utilities Commission and held that a submetering company that buys power and resells it to tenants is an "electric light company," and so a public utility. The opinion says the company "earns a profit based on the difference between the price it pays for electricity and the price it resells electricity."
Headlines have linked this to EV charging. The opinion does not mention vehicles or charging. What it does is narrow the safe harbor for third-party resellers while keeping an exception for a landlord whose resale is purely ancillary. A host that places a profit-making submetering company between the utility and residents is the structure it targets. We have not found a decision applying it to a charger. If you are in Ohio, treat a profit-based pass-through to residents as high risk until the PUCO or a court says otherwise.
What this means for how you structure it
- Charge for the service, not the electricity. A session or per-kWh price through a networked charger is the structure the carve-outs in New York, Maryland, Texas, Illinois and Pennsylvania describe.
- Where a landlord bills residents, bill cost. Massachusetts says separate usage billing is prohibited, Illinois ties tenant-requested charging to reasonable reimbursement, and New York and Pennsylvania cap what a resident can be charged. Texas caps apartment submetering at the owner's per-kWh cost, and we found no ruling applying that to a charger. A cost-only rule avoids most of these problems; a markup is where a cap bites.
- Keep any margin in a fee that is not for electricity. Illinois allows a reasonable access fee. Check that your state does before copying that.
- Put the answer in the lease. For multifamily, say in the lease addendum how EV electricity is billed. The renter side is covered in EV Charging for Renters.
- Metering is a separate question. Whether a charger's meter is legal for sale is a weights-and-measures issue, covered in the pricing article above.
For the business case behind multifamily charging, see Multifamily EV Charging and Lease Renewal and Software Platforms for Commercial Charging.
Where we could not confirm
We read the Ohio opinion, New York's 2013 ruling and Part 96, Maryland's statute, Texas PURA, Illinois's Public Utilities Act and tenant statute, Pennsylvania's statute and policy statement, and California's Civil Code. We did not read the Delaware order, the Ohio 2020 order, the full Massachusetts DPU order, Texas's 16 TAC 25.142, or any Maryland pricing rule. Illinois, Pennsylvania, California and some New York pages block automated fetches; we read those as public pages in a browser. These rules change, so check the current text before you rely on a row.
Last factually verified: November 2, 2026, against Ohio Supreme Court 2026-Ohio-1406, NY PSC Case 13-E-0199, 16 NYCRR Part 96, Md. Public Utilities Art. 1-101, Tex. Util. Code 31.002 and ch. 184, 220 ILCS 5/3-105 and 765 ILCS 1085/35, 66 Pa.C.S. 1313 and 52 Pa. Code 69.3501, the Massachusetts DPU submetering page, and Cal. Civ. Code 1947.6, with DOE AFDC and agency press releases used as secondary sources where noted.
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