Santee Cooper tests rates for at home electric vehicle chargers

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - Electric vehicles are becoming more popular in the state, and EV charging stations are also becoming more widely accessible.

Santee Cooper is rolling out experimental rates if you charge your car at home to help reduce customers’ energy bills.

Santee Cooper Public Relations Specialist Tracy Vreeland says they are calling the program ChargeSmart. The goal is to get people who charge their cars at home to do so during non-peak hours so Santee Cooper’s servers don’t get overwhelmed, and customers will save money.

Customers can choose from two plans to lower their time-of-use rates:

• REV (Residential Electric Vehicle Power Rate): Combines your EV’s electricity costs with your home’s electricity usage.
• EVO (Residential Electric Vehicle Power Only Rate): Separates your EV’s electricity costs from your home’s electricity usage and involves the installation of a second meter.

Under the REV rate, users would pay 24.63 cents per kilowatt hour during peak times, 8.6 cents during off-peak times and 4.18 cents during super off-peak times.

The EVO rate would require the user to install their EV charger on a separate meter at the customer’s expense. Rates under this plan are 33.76 cents per kilowatt hour during peak hours, 8.6 cents per kilowatt hour during off-peak times and 4.18 cents per kilowatt hour during super-off-peak times.

“We plan out our load years ahead of time and with all the growth and things like that we have to be ready for it anyway. This is a way to cut down on that peak load and get people to charge overnight when we are not using as much electricity as, say you know, running our shower, lights, and things like that,” Vreeland says.

Customers are asked to reach out to Santee Cooper’s residential energy advisors by calling 800-804-7424 ext. 3910 or emailing residential.energy@santeecooper.com to discuss their usage and get placed on the best plan to save money.

To learn more about these experimental rates and view pricing charts click here.

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