Pasadena, CA EV Incentives

[happyZEVer]

For those of you living in Pasadena, I hope you've checked out the city's Time of Use electric rate plans for EV drivers. Basically, there are two tiers to incentivize charging at off-peak times. The first tier gives you a discounted rate for charging during off peak times. The second tier actually increases charging rates during peak hours but gives you an even larger discount for charging off peak.

http://ww2.cityofpasadena.net/waterandpower/ev/Exp_EV_Rates_Application_FormMay2012.pdf

I opted for the first tier because I work from home and use the AC during the day.

One perk that is not well publicized is that TOU folks get $300 in LED lightbulbs from the city. They are the FEIT electric brand sold at Costco. A friendly PWP guy shows up at your house with a wide variety of bulbs for you to look at. Then you send in a request form and you get a box full of LED bulbs delivered soon after.

I love the city of Pasadena! For a smaller size city, they've done a lot to make EV drivers feel welcome and wanted. I'm a little jealous of Pasadena's BMW EV that I've seen tooling around town.

 

[JeremyW]

I hadn't bothered with the TOU rates because I thought 8c/kWh was already pretty damn good in CA, and I charge about 50/50 night/day. But the LED's sound like a steal so I'll apply for the night time discount rate now!

 

[TomT]

Note that you can stay on Tier 1 for only one year and then you must move to Tier 2...

I hadn't bothered with the TOU rates because I thought 8c/kWh was already pretty damn good in CA, and I charge about 50/50 night/day. But the LED's sound like a steal so I'll apply for the night time discount rate now!

 

[happyZEVer]

Hi TomT, you actually have the option of either graduating to Tier 2 or returning to the standard rate.

We're still contemplating Tier 2 but have many months left to think about it...