San Diego Gas & Electric offers credit to EV drivers

San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) is offering customers a credit on their bill if they drive an electric vehicle.

Drivers in the San Diego area who have an all-electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid, can apply for SDG&E’s Electric Vehicle Climate Credit by May 31. The credit is made available through a statewide program run by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to fight climate change. This is the third straight year that SDG&E has offered this credit.

“In addition to the environmental benefits, the performance of electric vehicles and the savings that come from fueling a car with electricity versus gasoline are driving a growing number of people to make the switch to plug-in electric vehicles,” Mike Schneider, SDG&E’s vice president of clean transportation and asset management, said. “EV drivers can take advantage of prices as low as 9 cents per kilowatt hour to charge up their car overnight. That price translates into the equivalent of paying 75 cents per gallon for gasoline for many drivers.”

The amount of the credit depends on the number of applicants and other factors. Last year, SDG&E distributed a $500 credit to each of the approximately 15,000 EV drivers who applied for it. In 2017, a $200 credit went to approximately 7,000 EV drivers. The size of the 2019 credit will depend on the number of applicants and other factors. 

The number of EV drivers in the region has grown by about 51 percent since 2017. There are now about 34,908 EV drivers in the region. EV drivers can sign up for the credit at sdge.com/evcc by May 31, 2019. Pollution from gas-powered vehicles is the largest source of harmful air emissions in this region. About 45 percent of the electricity delivered by SDG&E comes from renewable sources, such as solar and wind. The national average is about 10 percent.