City Utilities of Springfield, Missouri, is offering builders a rebate for adding outlets that accommodate electric vehicle charging stations to new homes.
The public power utility’s EV-Ready Home rebate offers up to $100 per outlet with a maximum of two 240-volt outlets per home.
The rebate applies to two types of outlets that comply with National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) standards, namely, NEMA 6-50 and NEMA 14-50, either of which can accommodate a Level-2 electric vehicle charger.
Level-2 chargers have become the most common model for home use and are faster than Level-1 chargers, which use a 120-volt service.
The rebate only applies to new construction with an attached garage, but City Utilities says it may look at other options for existing homeowners who wish to install a 240-volt outlet for a Level-2 charger.
“EV growth estimates vary greatly over the next decade, but what we know is that there are strong indications that more vehicles in the near future will be all-electric rather than powered by the traditional internal combustion engine,” Joel Alexander, manager of media and energy services at CU, said via email.
With this in mind, the utility wants to be more proactive by helping people prepare for the transition. As electric vehicles become more mainstream, having a home able to accommodate a charger is something many homebuyers will be looking for or requesting, and Installing outlets during construction is more cost effective than retrofitting an existing home, Alexander said.
“We believe the majority of the cost for installation and materials of this outlet is covered with the amount of the rebate,” Alexander said. The rebate does not cover the costs of installing Level-2 charger, which can range from $300 to $2,500.
“By marketing this rebate specifically to home builders, and at a price point that covers most if not all of the cost, the outlets could be considered an option or ‘added feature’ for home buyers,” Alexander said.
City Utilities does not currently offer any other incentives associated with electric vehicles, but “we’re considering an incentive for the purchase of the Level-2 chargers for the near future,” Alexander said. So far, the EV-Ready Home incentive is “getting a good amount of interest,” he said.
City Utilities is also in the process of researching how many electric vehicles there already are in its territory to “get a baseline for the impact of our efforts,” Alexander said.
City Utilities of Springfield provides electricity, natural gas, water, broadband, and public transportation services to 116,000 customers in a 320 square mile territory in southwest Missouri.
