Free Electricity Irony — Homeless get arrested, Telsa owners get subsidies?

In Portland, OR, Street Roots reports that a homeless former social worker with muscular dystrophy was hit with a misdemeanor theft charge for charging her phone from a plug on a planter-base on a sidewalk. She then spent a day in jail when she missed her arraignment.

The electricity she used to charge her phone was worth a fraction of a cent. Worried that a pleading guilty would put a black mark on her record that would interfere with her ability to get social housing, she pled innocent. After two court dates with two different public defenders, the DA finally dropped the charge.

Late last year, the Oregonian reported that the Portland mass transit agency, TriMet, cut off free electricity to battery-depleted commuters who discovered not-so-hidden power outlets tucked under its light rail schedule/map kiosks.

Now, the Portland Business Journal reports that the Oregon Legislature is considering House Bill 2092, which would award rebates to Oregonians who buy Nissan Leafs, Chevy Volts, Volkswagen e-Golfs and other all-electric vehicles now on the market, including the high-end Tesla Model S.

The legislation would provide a $3,000 rebate to buyers of electric cars and $1,500 to buyers of plug-in electric vehicles.

Already, in Portland, electric vehicles have priority parking and get to plug in to free electricity for the time that they are parked.

At the same time, on the other side of the country, the state of Georgia is pulling its electric vehicle subsidies. On top of that, Vice News reports that the state is about to get rid of its $5,000 tax credit and, on top of that, add a $200 a year electric vehicle tax to recoup the state’s drop in gasoline tax revenues.

Who would have thought that a few electrons would cause so many headaches?