Residential EV Charging Station Rebate Program FAQ

Residential EV Charging Station Rebate Program FAQ

Have a question? We're here to help! Find answers to our frequently asked questions about the Residential EV Charging Station Rebate.

 

FAQ 

General Program Information

The Residential EV Charging Station Rebate Program provides rebates to BWP residential customers to offset some of the costs of purchasing and installing up to two qualified Level 2 EV charging stations per customer per residence, including electric panel costs if an upgrade is needed.

The City of Burbank and BWP are committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and pollutants. Transportation is the single largest GHG contributor and EVs play a critical role in reducing carbon emissions and improving air quality. The program supports EV adoption in the city by offsetting some of the costs of purchasing and installing charging stations.
The program is funded through the California Air Resources Board’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard Program and other public funding sources.
The Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) is a program of the California Air Resources Board. This program provides funding that must be invested by utilities into infrastructure and programs that encourage transportation electrification. Please refer to Low Carbon Fuel Standard for more information.
The Residential EV Charging Station Rebate Program is primarily funded by the Low Carbon Fuel Standard Program. By assigning your rights under the LCFS Program to BWP, you contribute to funding the program after receiving the benefit of the rebate.

 Rebate Information

To apply for a rebate, download and complete the application available at burbankwaterandpower.com/charge-at-home and submit with all required documents through one of the following means:
 

  • Email to [email protected]
     
  • Mail to:

    Burbank Water and Power

    P.O. Box 631
Burbank,
    CA 91503-0631
     
  • Drop off in person at
    164 W. Magnolia Blvd,
    Burbank, CA 91502.

The City of Burbank and BWP are committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and pollutants. Transportation is the single largest GHG contributor and EVs play a critical role in reducing carbon emissions and improving air quality. The program supports EV adoption in the city by offsetting some of the costs of purchasing and installing charging stations.

Applications must be submitted no later than six months following the issuance date of “finaled” permits by the City of Burbank for the installation of the charging station(s).

Before applying, you need to install the charging station and pass inspection. Your application must be submitted no later than six months following the issuance date of “finaled” permits by the City of Burbank for the installation.

The following rebate amounts are available per charge port:

      Standard Charger        Smart Charger       Panel Upgrade      Maximum Rebate
Residential Customer             $200       $500             $750               $1,250
DAC Customer             $300       $600             $900              $1,500

The program is designed to alleviate some of the financial burden of installing a new charging station.

The rebate amount you may receive is based on the total cost of the charging station(s) and eligible installation costs, minus any other financial incentives or rebates from third parties for the purchase and deployment of the charging station (the “Net Cost”). The rebate amount is limited to your Net Cost if your Net Cost is less than the applicable maximum rebate amount.

Disadvantaged Communities (DACs) are the most pollution-burdened and vulnerable communities as designated by the California Environmental Protection Agency based on a quantitative method to evaluate multiple pollution sources and stressors, and vulnerability to pollution, in California’s approximately 8,000 census tracts.

You can find out if your residence is located in a Disadvantaged Community here. Enter your address in the upper right section of the map.

  • If your residence is located in an area shaded in red (CalEnviroScreen 4.0), it is eligible for the DAC rebate amounts.
  • If your residence is located in an area shaded in any color other than red, it is eligible for the non-DAC rebate amounts.

 

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The Panel Upgrade Incentive is for residential EV customers who need to upgrade their electric panel when installing a new EV charging station. When you add a charging station to your residence, your energy need will increase and could be higher than the current rating of your electric panel. Your licensed electrician will determine if you need an upgrade.

You need to report to BWP all third-party financial incentives received or expected to be received in connection with the purchase and installation of qualifying charging stations. BWP may monitor publicly available information. Failure to report these incentives may result in forfeiting rebates and require repayment of any previously paid rebates.

Third-party financial incentives offset some of the costs of deploying charging stations. BWP’s program is designed to alleviate some of the remaining costs of installing a new charging station.

A payment assignment allows applicants to designate someone other than the BWP customer to receive the rebate payment. For instance, you may decide to designate the electrician installing the charging station as a beneficiary. Please note that you can only assign the rebate payment to a single party.

Applications (rebate reservation or rebate payment requests) are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis and processed in the order received. Funds are limited, and rebates are not guaranteed. BWP may waitlist applications if funding is anticipated to become insufficient. BWP may also suspend Program enrollment and stop accepting applications until additional funding is available.

After submitting your application and all required documents, BWP will review your submission and determine if your application meets the program requirements. If your rebate is approved, it may take up to 8 weeks for you to receive the rebate payment.
Yes. If your application is considered ineligible by BWP, you may file an appeal request using the form available at Burbankwaterandpower.com/residential-ev-appeal-form. Your appeal request will lead to a new review of your application and required documents by a Customer Service supervisor. Please note that appeals are governed by the program’s terms and conditions to correct factual or clerical errors. BWP cannot make exceptions to or waive any of the program’s terms and conditions.
Yes, BWP may inspect your charging station before payment of the rebate.

Eligibility

All BWP residential customers, including tenants and residents of single and multi-family residences, are eligible for the program.

Eligible residences must take electric service from BWP on a residential rate schedule, including single-family residences and units of multi-family residences.

Individual units of multi-family residences are eligible. The applicant must be the tenant, resident, or non-residing owner who is the BWP account holder or an authorized representative.

In some cases, individual charging stations cannot be connected to your home meter. A commercial electric infrastructure upgrade may also be needed for your building. In these cases, your building management or HOA may need to manage the charging station's installation.

A multi-family residence is an apartment building, duplex, court group, or any other group of residential units located upon a single premise where each residential unit provides the same accommodation as a single-family residence. Hotels, guest or resort ranches, tourist camps, motels, auto courts, and trailer courts, consisting primarily of guest rooms and/or transient accommodations, are not classed as multi-family accommodations.

Charging Stations

Charging stations qualify for a rebate if they:

  • Are purchased new and unused,
  • Are certified and listed by a nationally recognized testing laboratory (NRTL) as identified by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (e.g., Underwriters Laboratories or UL), and
  • Provide Level 2 charging supporting the SAE International J1772 standard with a minimum output power of 3.3 kW.

Note that the installation of a 240V outlet does not qualify for a rebate through this program.

An up-to-date list of NRTLs is available at osha.gov/nationally-recognized-testing-laboratory-program/current-list-of-nrtls.

The J1772 standard governs the general physical, electrical, functional, and performance requirements for all Level 2 charging stations in the US for plug-in EVs.
Level 2 is the most common public EV charging level, operating at 240V. A level 2 charging station can provide approximately 20 to 30 miles of range per charging hour.

To qualify for a Smart Charging Station Rebate:

  • Charging stations must have network/Wi-Fi capability, and
  • Customers must subscribe to an EV charging network participating in the Program (i.e., qualifying charging stations must be connected to the EV charging network at all times). The subscription must remain active for the life of the charging station.
All charging networks are participating in the program.
As you participate in the program, you agree to share charging data through your EV charging network service provider, including date, time, duration, max. kW, and kWh when this data is requested by BWP.

No. Charging stations must be purchased new and unused to qualify for a rebate.

Qualifying charging stations must be permanently installed (either wall-, pole- or pedestal-mounted) by a licensed electrical contractor to the eligible premises. The charging stations must be powered through electric service provided to eligible customers by BWP.

Please make sure that your installation complies with all codes and regulations, including obtaining permits with a “finaled” status from the City of Burbank (after passing inspection) You must also have all relevant authorizations, including the property owner and/or homeowner associations, as applicable.

Rebates are limited to two charging stations per customer per residence, including any rebates you previously received for the same residence. The limit resets when you move into a new residence in Burbank.

Vehicles

Charging stations must charge vehicles that are:

  • On-road plug-in battery EVs or plug-in hybrid EVs
  • Approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation for highway application and
  • Registered with the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

Charging stations that charge non-four wheel or off-road vehicles (e.g., motorbikes, golf carts, forklifts) are not qualifying charging stations.

Applicants applying for a rebate through the Program must own or lease a qualifying EV registered as operational with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) at the residence where the qualifying charging station is installed.

Installation Costs

Eligible installation costs are limited to hardware and labor costs in connection with the deployment of panels, circuit breakers and meter sockets, electrical conduits, wiring, junction boxes, disconnects, switches, and fuses, together with trenching, resurfacing and connecting qualifying charging stations. Eligible installation costs also include any costs billed by BWP to customers to deploy electric utility infrastructure that may be required to serve qualifying charging stations. All eligible installation costs must be invoiced by an electrician with an active license from the state of California. Hardware costs such as the charging station may be invoiced by the licensed electrician or a retail business.

EV charging installation costs incurred in compliance with the California Green Building Standards Code (CalGreen) are not eligible. If building permits for your residence were filed after December 31, 2012, costs for panel capacity increase and dedicated conduits should not be included. If you need assistance to determine if this applies to your residence, please submit the CalGreen Check Request available at BurbankWaterandPower.com/calgreen-check-form.

Similarly, charging station operation and maintenance costs (e.g., extended warranties, service contracts, EV charging network fees) are not eligible costs under the Program.

CALGreen is California’s first green building code and first in the nation’s state-mandated green building code. It is formally known as the California Green Building Standards Code, Title 24, Part 11, of the California Code of Regulations.

CALGreen aims to improve public health, safety, and general welfare through enhanced design and construction of buildings using concepts that reduce negative impacts and promote those principles that have a positive environmental impact and encourage sustainable construction practices.

Calgreen mandates specific installations for single and multi-family residences to be EV-charging ready, including an electric panel with capacity to install a 40-ampere 208/240-volt minimum dedicated branch circuit and space(s) reserved to permit installation of a branch circuit overcurrent protective device, and conduits to serve potential charging stations. It is BWP’s policy not to incentivize mandated installation. As a result, if you apply for a residence that was built under CalGreen, the cost of upgrading a panel or adding conduits to serve the new charging station is not eligible. However, since Calgreen does not require installing charging stations, the costs of the charging station and its installation (wall-, pedestal- or pole-mounting) together with the wiring necessary for a new 240V circuit are eligible.

The relevant CalGreen sections can be found at here.

CalGreen’s EV requirements apply to residences for which a construction permit was filed on or after January 1, 2014. Contact the City of Burbank’s Building & Safety division at 818-238-5220 or [email protected] if you are unsure whether your residence requires compliance with CalGreen’s EV requirements.

Time of Use

A time-of-use (TOU) rate features different rates based on the time of day. Electricity rates are lower at night, but go up during daytime hours when customers use more energy from the grid. For more information, please visit burbankwaterandpower.com/time-of-use.

As BWP incentivizes Level 2 charging, we also want to promote charging at the optimal time for the grid. Studies show that most customers on a TOU rate will charge their EV when the energy cost is the lowest (off-peak, from 11 PM to 8 AM for BWP residential customers). When you charge your EV during off-peak hours, you help maintain low electricity rates and contribute to cleaner air.
  1. A time-of-use (TOU) rate provides the lowest energy cost available (compared to our standard residential rate) if you charge your vehicle after 11 PM. Most EVs will be fully charged in the morning if left to be charged overnight.
  2. Your household energy costs may be higher between 8 AM and 11 PM, especially if you charge your EV during these hours.
As you add EV charging to your household, your electricity usage will increase and your electricity bill will likely follow. However, your overall energy costs (electricity and gasoline) will likely decrease as you avoid trips to the gas station. Most EV drivers who charge at home will see immediate savings, especially when the cost of gasoline is high.