By Mary O’KEEFE

Glendale Water & Power (GWP), in partnership with Sagewell, Inc. (Sagewell), announced the launch of a new residential program for electric vehicle (EV) drivers called the Off-Peak EV Charging Rebate program. This program incentivizes EV owners to charge their vehicles overnight on weekdays between 9 p.m. and noon and any time on the weekend in exchange for a credit of $8 per month paid out once per year. The incentive is estimated to offer 1,300 miles of free driving per year.

Residents enroll by completing a one-time, seven-minute enrollment application and the EV’s charging schedule handles the rest. This program shifts electric vehicle load to off-peak hours without any special hardware or separate meter needed. Participants will program their vehicles to charge during off-peak hours and software algorithms developed by Sagewell will confirm off-peak charging compliance from AMI “smart meter” data. Enrollment requires an active GWP residential electric account and a Level 2 charger or 240-volt charging cable provided by the vehicle manufacturer. 

Off-peak EV charging helps relieve energy demand and utilizes available overnight capacity within GWP’s electric system. This then helps with reliability and benefits all GWP customers. With this program, other communities have seen participants charge off-peak at least 90% of the time, efficiently integrating EV load with the distribution system.

“This program is one part of GWP’s transportation electrification efforts. It will help us keep our grid more reliable by encouraging and incentivizing residents to charge during off-peak hours,” stated GWP General Manager Mark Young. “It will also help promote EV adoption among Glendale residents and magnify the benefits of EVs in our city.”

Southern California Edison (SCE) offers its own rate reduction plan. SCE has a Time-of-Use (TOU) rate plan specifically designed for residential customers who own or lease clean energy technologies, such as EVs and residential battery storage, according to Ron Gales, senior advisor corporate Communications and Philanthropy for SCE.

“There are three different rate plans [for] the off-peak hours,” Gales said.

The program is called TOU Prime and to sign up SCE customers must have an electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle, a residential battery or electric pump system for water or space heating to enroll in TOU Prime. Ownership, or lease agreement, of one or more of these clean energy technologies is necessary at time of enrollment, unless the customer is currently enrolled in one of the utility’s rate plans.

SCE does not have a rebate program but does offer lower rates for customers who charge during off-peak hours. The least expensive rate times are from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. during the summer and fall/winter seasons. In the summer, (June to September) the cost of the lowest off-peak hours is 21 cents per kilowatt hour; from October through May it is 20 cents per kilowatt hour. During peak hours the costs are 33 cents in the summer and 31 to 35 cents during winter months, said Gales.

Customers who are interested in these programs can visit sce.com/rateplantool or call (800) 655-4555. For more information visit https://www.sce.com/sites/default/files/inline-files/TOU-D-PRIME_Fact_Sheet_0320_WCAG.pdf.

EV customers can also inquire about GWP’s Time-of-Use rates to maximize the benefits of charging at off-peak hours. Interested Glendale EV drivers can enroll in the program by visiting https://www.bringyourowncharger.com/gwp-home.

For more information or GWP program related questions, please call (855) 545-0320 or email gwp@sagewell.com.