Utility Bill for Charging?

[EeveeDriver]

What difference did you see in your utility bill after you started charging your EV every night? Are you on a special rate schedule with your utility?

I have not seen my first electric bill since I started plugging in my Spark every night and wondered what I have to look forward to. I am still on the 110v charger and have the 220v charger in the works. I am sure I will not like the installation quote from the Bosch approved electrical contractor, who told me that the bill would be lower if he didn't have to go through Bosch.

Thanks

 

[markcmann]

What difference did you see in your utility bill after you started charging your EV every night? Are you on a special rate schedule with your utility?

I have not seen my first electric bill since I started plugging in my Spark every night and wondered what I have to look forward to. I am still on the 110v charger and have the 220v charger in the works. I am sure I will not like the installation quote from the Bosch approved electrical contractor, who told me that the bill would be lower if he didn't have to go through Bosch.

Thanks

I'm sure this will vary by utility company (SCE, LADWP, PG&E, etc.) and also factoring in that July's weather was pretty hot which resulted in the A/C running more often in certain parts of the state. But for me, I have SCE and received my car on 7/3 but the rate plan switch from the standard 'Residential Plan' to the 'Home & Electric Vehicle Plan' did not go into effect until 8/3 so it's really hard for me to calculate (unless I went through each day and subtracted each increase daily usage between 12am and 6am from the total). However, looking at the usage so for for the current month (and the projected bill) I'd say the overall bill is about the same (maybe a little less overall) but time will tell...

 

[Electricbowtie]

If you haven't already done so, I would switch to a term of use plan so you can charge the car on off peak times for cheaper. I'm with PG&E and had my Volt for a year already and charging off peak averages $0.13 p/kwh compared to peak rates at around $0.45 p/kwh. I usually see about 100-150 kwh a month more than before EV driving, so now with my wife charging the Spark as well, I expect double that. Funny that's still only $50-$60 per month driving two cars. PG&E just changed over to a non-tiered EV plan that will cost a bit more than the baseline tiered plan I am grandfathered in from last year, but still way cheaper than a flat rate plan.

 

[EeveeDriver]

For those with PG&E service, here is a link to PG&E Electric Schedule EV, Residential Time-of-Use Service for Plug-in Electric Vehicle Customers (Eff. 8/1/2013):

http://www.pge.com/tariffs/tm2/pdf/ELEC_SCHEDS_EV.pdf

 

[Poseymvp]

For those with PG&E service, here is a link to PG&E Electric Schedule EV, Residential Time-of-Use Service for Plug-in Electric Vehicle Customers (Eff. 8/1/2013):

http://www.pge.com/tariffs/tm2/pdf/ELEC_SCHEDS_EV.pdf

I currently have PG&E as well.. I recently brought a Spark as well.. However my work has charging stations so I will be mostly doing the charging from work.. I'm currently on E-1 tier charging systems.. If I changed to an EV plan (EV-A) will that cost more because I'll still be using electricity during peak hours? I know it'll save electricity if I charge during off peak hours for EV-A plan but since I won't be doing that much charging, wonder if its beneficial..

Thx

 

[Electricbowtie]

PG&E has a calculator on the website that can help you decide whether its beneficial to switch, but if you hardly do any charging at home it may not be worth it if someone is at home during peak hours running the AC & heater.

 

[Anonymous]

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[iletric]

The best way - perhaps - to compare who pays what for juice is to take the monthly entire electricity bill (minus gas, of course) and divide it by the entire kW use for the month. Then you'll know your actual cost of EV driving.

In my case it's 18 cents per kW with my PG&E EV rate. It dropped from 28 cents per kW I paid on my old E7 4-tier rate. Definitely an improvement.

I'd be curious to compare how much everyone else is paying...

 

[Electricbowtie]

With 5 months with out Spark now, we are paying an average of about 18c per kwh on our bill and getting into Tier 4 for all rates.

 

[iletric]

With 5 months with out Spark now, we are paying an average of about 18c per kwh on our bill and getting into Tier 4 for all rates.

Your summer rate begins May 1. See what happens then...

Who is your provider?

 

[Electricbowtie]

With 5 months with out Spark now, we are paying an average of about 18c per kwh on our bill and getting into Tier 4 for all rates.

Your summer rate begins May 1. See what happens then...

Who is your provider?

We have PG&E on the EV rates (not the new EV-A but the older one) but have had the Spark since July, so we have already seen the summer rate and still worked out to 18 cents/kW then too. Latest bill with lots of heating was 1065 kWh for $181 (17 c/kWh), which also included some charging from my Volt (which is typically only charged at my work).

 

[iletric]

That's very strange that your summer and winter rates are the same. Peak summer rate is usually double of peak winter. I have the "new" EV rate, and our juice comes from Marin Clean Energy not PG&E. PG&E charge is only for delivery.

I'm curious what my summer will look like since we charge just about around the clock (Leaf and Spark).

 

[Electricbowtie]

That's very strange that your summer and winter rates are the same. Peak summer rate is usually double of peak winter. I have the "new" EV rate, and our juice comes from Marin Clean Energy not PG&E. PG&E charge is only for delivery.

I'm curious what my summer will look like since we charge just about around the clock (Leaf and Spark).

The rates are definitely not the same in winter and summer, but since I have a special EV rate, most of my power (50-60%) is consumed on the off-peak cheaper rates from 12am - 7am when the Spark is charging on 220V, so it lowers my overall average. Check out the PG&E tariffs to compare. http://www.pge.com/tariffs/tm2/pdf/ELEC_SCHEDS_EV.pdf This are the new rates that go into effect for me Dec 2014, but are similar to what i have now.

 

[iletric]

Ultimately, what counts is your actual cost, i.e. cents per kW. We charge whenever we need to, while trying to stay off peak.

It's not always possible, therefore the real life usage is what matters. It the car is needed, you have to charge no matter what. This is why I always look at total money and total usage to give me the actual cost/savings as compared to ICE driving, with combined EV lifetime average of about 4 miles/kW (between Leaf and Spark) and about 28 mpg on the ICE side.

 

[tigger19687]

I am watching this thread, but do not see actual $$ spent listed. Anyone want to Update this ?

I have a Diesel Truck and have to plug in for the Winter up here so my Truck will start. I don't HAVE to, but I do anyway. I plug in at 5:30pm when I get home M-F and unplug at 7am. No timer and it could be plugged in all weekend long if I don't go anywhere.

I know it is different then what an EV will draw and I have no idea what my Truck draws on the 120v plug. But to be honest I didn't see ANY difference in my bills.

Honestly, if you are wondering what you are using kW wise. They have these things you can plug in to the outlet and then you plug in your devise. It will show you what you are using.

When I get my Spark EV, I will be plugging in at work as I am here for 9-10 hrs a day. So, it would be FREE

FYI, I am in MA. it is hard to figure out bills as there is Delivery fee, this fee and that fee ..... unless you are just talking about kW used and no other fees attached

 

[emv]

About a thousand miles a month is making our PGE (not PG&E) bill go up about $25. That's without any special rate plan. Of course our Chevron bill has gone down considerably. :lol:

 

[aviatorjames]

...wow... 1000 miles / month with a $25 increase!!
That's only 2.5¢ / mile!
...my 2007 Honda Ridgeline (truck) costs me about 22¢ / mile.
...and my 1973 Karmann Ghia costs me about 13¢ / mile.

I bought the Spark expecting about $50 increase for a similar monthly usage.
I'm going to closely track how much I use so I can plan my solar accordingly!
...late 2015 project.

 

[dawsontg]

From April-November 2014 I am averaging 1343 miles and $58.46 increase per month, which comes to $0.044/mile in electricity costs.

This is in California on SCE's Home & Electric Vehicle Time of Use plan. On a typical month, my power distribution is 15% on peak, 35% off peak, and 50% super-off peak.

Thomas

 

[aviatorjames]

From April-November 2014 I am averaging 1343 miles and $58.46 increase per month, which comes to $0.044/mile in electricity costs.

This is in California on SCE's Home & Electric Vehicle Time of Use plan. On a typical month, my power distribution is 15% on peak, 35% off peak, and 50% super-off peak.

Thanks or the explicit data... closer to what I had thumb-calc'd for costs.
It sounds like you do most, if not all of your charging at home.
...I'll be doing the same.

 

[StevesWeb]

Right now Southern California Edison owes us over $800.

We have a large home with lots of water pumps running 24/7 for koi ponds, so in 2012 we installed 78 solar panels. We are on the net metering plan which means we get paid for the excess energy we put on the grid during daylight hours. After our first year with he default tiered rates our electric bill went from $1,000 a month to about $1,000 a year.

Once we bought our Spark EV we switched to the TOU-D-TEV rate plan, in which we get paid more money per kWh we put on the grid between 10AM and 6PM, and we pay a considerably lower price for off peak and super off peak (12AM to 6AM) when our EV charges.

I'm projecting that at the end of our current annual settlement period they will owe us several hundred dollars.

Owning both a solar power installation and an EV can be very rewarding.