Electric vehicle charge program rates

Pricing, billing, load management, and rates

UPDATE: This program is fully subscribed. We are currently not accepting new participants.

Participants in the EV Charge program pay for electric service to the charging stations using one of two electric rate options. They work with their vendor to either pass pricing directly to drivers or create their own pricing plan.

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Pricing options

Program participants select from two ways of recovering costs from EV drivers for the electricity used:
	Pass Through Pricing	Custom Pricing
Rates	Program participant pays Time-of-Use (TOU) rate, using a dedicated meter that serves only the EV chargers.	Program participant pays Time-Of-Use (TOU) rate, using a dedicated meter that serves only the EV chargers.
Pricing for EV drivers	Program participant passes the TOU rate directly to drivers. Get help determining how much to charge drivers at your site	Program participant creates their own pricing structure, such as free charging or flat-rate charging.
Pricing implementation	Program participant communicates the pricing structure to their vendor.	Program participant communicates the pricing structure to their vendor and participates in the EV Charge Load Management Plan.

BILLING PROCESS

The program participant will pay for electric service to the EV charging stations. If a program participant chooses to bill drivers for charging sessions, this is the process:

The program participant tells their vendor the pricing structure they want for drivers.
The vendor collects payments from drivers as they use the chargers.
The program participant pays their monthly electricity bill for service to the chargers.
The vendor transfers to the program participant the funds they've collected from drivers (details to be negotiated between the vendor and the program participant).

LOAD MANAGEMENT PLAN

Download the Load Management Plan Guide (PDF, 336 KB)

Program participants who choose to implement their own custom pricing, such as free charging or a flat fee, must participate in the EV Charge Load Management Plan. Through the Load Management Plan, participants will be requested to shift the amount of EV charging at their site on certain occasions (called “events”) to support the grid. Sometimes PG&E will ask participants to increase EV charging at their site, such as times when there is significant generation of renewable energy like solar. Other times, PG&E will ask participants to decrease EV charging at their site, such as times when there is high demand for electricity.

On the day before an event, Load Management Plan participants will be notified of the type of event (increase or decrease EV charging) and the time of the event. Events will typically last 1-2 hours. Each site’s vendor will receive the signal for the event and communicate the event information to site hosts and drivers.

LOAD MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Participants can work with their vendor to determine a strategy to partake in the events, or they can implement their own tactics. Participants will need to notify PG&E of the load management tactics that they plan to use to meet the event goals. Some load management tactics may include:

Sending communications (e.g. emails or text messages) to employees or residents to encourage charging at certain times;
Adjusting the pricing for drivers during the event (e.g. increasing the price of charging during load reduction events, or decreasing the price of charging during load increase events);
Requiring advance scheduling of charging sessions on event days;
Utilizing strategies that the site’s vendor can implement, such as an overall power reduction to the set of chargers during load decrease events; or
Any other strategy that the participant would like to try to influence charging behavior when an event occurs.

RATE OPTIONS

Program participants will be charged for the electric service to the EV charging stations using a commercial rate (A6 or A10, or the equivalent CCA rates if the program participant is a CCA customer). The charging stations will be served by a dedicated meter and rate, regardless of any other meters or rates used at the property. Both options are Time-of-Use (TOU) rates, which means that the price of electricity varies throughout the day.

	A6 (Small general time-of-use service)	A10 (Medium general demand-metered service)	Business EV rate (commercial customer rate)
Eligibility	The amount of electricity used by the charging stations at one time must be less than 75 kW. Eligibility for A6 will be reviewed annually, and any participants that have a maximum demand of greater than 75 kW in three consecutive months will be automatically transitioned to A10.	The amount of electricity used by the charging stations at one time can be greater than 75 kW.	A customer must be a business or organization with EV charging stations. A customer must have individually metered EV charging stations (ie, a meter can’t be shared by a building and an EV charger). Customer must have an interval meter installed that is capable of being read remotely by PG&E. EV charging installations with a connected load up to 100 kilowatts (kW) should enroll on the Business Low Use EV Rate - BEV1. EV charging installations with a connected load of 100 kilowatts (kW) or more should enroll on the Business High Use EV Rate - BEV2.
Energy rates ($/kWh)	A10 has lower energy rates ($/kWh) than A6, but has a demand charge.	A10 has lower energy rates ($/kWh) than A6, but has a demand charge	Unlike the other business rate offerings, the Business EV rates eliminate demand charges to accommodate peaks in EV charging demand and eliminates TOU seasonality. This allows for more predictable and affordable EV charging pricing when compared to the other business rate offerings.
Demand charge	A6 does not have a demand charge.	A10 includes a demand charge, which is an additional fee based on the maximum amount of electricity used by the charging stations at one time during the billing period.	The Business EV rate does not have a demand charge. The demand charge is replaced by a monthly kW subscription charge which is chosen by customers and can be changed each month to meet the customers charging needs.
Participant consideration	A6 is typically the better rate for: Participants anticipating low to moderate utilization of their charging stations. Participants considering the Pass-Through Pricing option. Participants with charging station utilization primarily during the off peak and partial peak hours of the time-of-use periods.	A10 is typically the better rate for participants anticipating high utilization of their charging stations.	Business Low Use EV Rate - BEV1 – is best suited for small usage locations such as smaller workplaces, small fleets and multi-unit dwellings. Business High Use EV Rate - BEV2 – is best suited for large sites with fleets and fast-charging stations.