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New Ontario Provincial rebate program for home charging installations...

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Hot off the press...


News Release

Helping Electric Vehicle Drivers Plug In
December 3, 2012

McGuinty Government Fighting Climate Change, Supporting Green Technology
Ontario is helping electric car owners install charging stations at their homes and businesses to encourage sustainable transportation and fight climate change.

Starting Jan. 1, 2013, homeowners and businesses who received a provincial electric vehicle rebate and have installed or are planning to install an electric vehicle charging station will be eligible for rebates of up to $1,000 or 50 per cent of the total purchase and installation cost, whichever is lower.

Application forms, full criteria and details for the rebate program will be available Jan. 1, 2013 at ontario.ca/electricvehicles.

Investing in sustainable transportation is part of the McGuinty government's plan to keep Ontario clean and green while strengthening the economy. A strong economy protects the services that mean most to Ontarians -- health care and education.



QUICK FACTS
Ontario launched its Electric Vehicles Incentive Program in July 2010, offering rebates between $5,000 and $8,500 toward the purchase or lease of new plug-in hybrid electric or battery electric vehicles.
Ontario's Climate Change Action Plan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to six per cent below 1990 levels by 2014, and to 15 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020.
Ontario is supporting the production of the RAV4 EV through an investment in Toyota's Project Green Light, helping to protect 6,500 jobs and thousands of supplier jobs throughout the province.



LEARN MORE
See more about the Electric Vehicle Incentive Program.
Read about Ontario’s Climate Change Action Plan.
Get more information about green licence plates.
 
...fine print...

Electric Vehicle Charging Incentive Program
37.Who is eligible for the rebate?

Individuals, businesses, municipalities and non-profit organizations who are legal entities and have purchased an electric vehicle and have applied for and received a rebate under the Electric Vehicle Incentive Program.

The federal government and its agencies along with all Ontario government ministries and agencies will not be eligible.
38.Will people who have already purchased a charging station or electric vehicle be eligible for the rebate?

Anyone who has received an electric vehicle rebate and purchased and installed a home charging station between July 1, 2010 and the launch of the Charging Incentive Program will be eligible to apply for the rebate.

If you purchased a charging station before the launch of the program you need to provide proper documentation showing proof of purchase and proper installation in order to be eligible for the full rebate amount. If your charging station purchase and installation receipts are not provided the value of the rebate will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Installation costs will only be reimbursed if all required documentation, including the electrical certificate of inspection issued by an ESA (Electrical Safety Authority), is provided. If you have purchased or are thinking about purchasing a charging station we recommend that you keep all your receipts.
39.How many charging station rebates can an electric vehicle owner apply for?

You are eligible for one charging station rebate for every electric vehicle rebate you received. Note that you must have already received an electric vehicle rebate before you can apply for the charging station rebate.
40.When can consumers apply for the rebate?

The program is scheduled to come into effect on January 1, 2013. Please visit Ontario.ca/electricvehicles for updates.
41.What is Level 2 charging and why are you promoting it?

Level 2 charging stations allow for a shorter time to charge making it more convenient to drive electric vehicles.

Level 1 charging stations are not eligible for the rebate because this equipment is included with the purchase of an electric vehicle; whereas Level 3 charging stations are prohibitively expensive and require significant voltage, making them less appropriate for home or business fleet use.

It takes about one to four hours for a plug-in hybrid vehicle (e.g., GM Volt or Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid) to become fully charged on Level 2.

It takes about four to seven hours for a battery electric vehicle (e.g., Nissan Leaf) to become fully charged on Level 2.
42.What is the value of the rebate?

50% of the purchase and installation costs for a home charging station; to a maximum of $1,000 (whichever value is lower).
43.Does the rebate cover the cost of installation?

Eligible expenses include:
■The purchase price of the charging station;
■The costs associated with installing the unit;
■Note: anyone other than a homeowner or employee of an industrial establishment must be licensed in order to undertake electrical work. Only costs related to using a third party to install a charging unit and the cost of the electrical inspection will be eligible under this program. Material costs associated with an employee or home owner installing the unit themselves will not be covered.
■To find a Licensed Electrical Contractor in your area, please visit ESA’s website at: http://applications.dmtispatial.com/esa/
■The cost associated with an electrical inspection undertaken by ESA;
■Proof of installation must be in the form of a certificate of inspection issued by the ESA (this can be obtained from the electrical contractor who undertook the work or by the ESA if the work was undertaken by an employee or a homeowner).

44.What documentation will be needed to apply for the rebate?

It is recommended that you retain as much documentation as possible at this time, namely
◦the receipt for the purchase of the charging station,
◦the invoice for the station installation if undertaken by a licensed electrical contractor
◦the invoice or receipt for the electrical inspection cost (this can be obtained either as part of the invoice for the installation if undertaken by an electrical contractor or by ESA if the installation was undertaken by a homeowner or employee); and
◦the certificate of inspection issued by ESA.

Hey, this reads like I will be able to retro-apply for my Roadster HPC installed in the fall of 2010...Doug_G, looks like you were right about the ordering of a charge station (intending to...) before the Jan 1, 2013 date...
 
Meeting with the Ontario Ministry of Energy to discuss EV policies tomorrow. I'll see what I can find out...

So, I met with the Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Transportation along with a few electricity distributors and some observers to discuss EV and EV policy issues. Specific to the issue of the EV charger rebate, the details are still being worked out and the program is supposed to launch January 1st. I talked a bit about how the Tesla charger is on-board and in a lot of cases, a simple NEMA 14-50 or 14-30 is all that will be required. Apparently, up to 50% of the charger cost AND 50% of the wiring infrastructure costs up to the $1,000 cap will be eligible. This would mean, if finalized this way, that we in Ontario could still realize some form of rebate for simply wiring in an outlet.

Here's something I didn't know: Any person who receives a rebate (either for an EV or Charger) has their 6-digit postal code released to the local electric utility. (I haven't received any postal codes yet which means either this hasn't started yet, or no EV rebates have gone out in my company's service territory). This is to aid the utility in capacity planning.

I need to dig into this a bit further, but I am also given to understand that there are some new or proposed changes to the Electrical Code concerning EV charging circuits. All EV chargers are required to have a compulsory inspection (pre-authorized electricians often don't have to have their work physically inspected), and EV circuits (even outlets) are designated as "continuous load" and there are labeling requirements for outlets. 120 volt circuits will have to be 20 amp and use NEMA 5-20 receptacles.
 
I need to dig into this a bit further, but I am also given to understand that there are some new or proposed changes to the Electrical Code concerning EV charging circuits. All EV chargers are required to have a compulsory inspection (pre-authorized electricians often don't have to have their work physically inspected), and EV circuits (even outlets) are designated as "continuous load" and there are labeling requirements for outlets. 120 volt circuits will have to be 20 amp and use NEMA 5-20 receptacles.

Sure, gold plate everything while you're at it.
 
Sure, gold plate everything while you're at it.

There was a lot of discussion about EVSE as if any/all electric cars will have to have one, and about how to capture this information to help the utility with load forecasts. The new electrical code requirements were kind of a sidebar discussion. I said I could simply have an electrician wire in a NEMA 14-50 and not tell him what it's for (it's just an outlet, after all) and there was a recognition that yes, you could do this. I guess you're suppose to disclose what the outlet is for (then the EV provisions would kick in). Actual EVSE equipment would be obvious to the electrician, which is what most non-Tesla EVs will require.

I have a guy that works for me who is a licensed electrician and I'm going to get him to dig into this a bit. (Electric utilities generally do not get involved in "behind-the-meter" activities, so electrical (wiring) code issues are not something I'm up on).
 
So based on what mknox is saying I could get cash back for the wiring up of an outlet? I am choosing not to proceed with the HPWC at this point until I have some real usage data to make a better decisions but obviously need to move on an outlet ASAP.

We haven't set a follow up meeting date yet, but I'll keep my ear to the ground on this one. The word is that the program is supposed to launch in the new year and that up to 50% of wiring costs up to the $1,000 cap would be eligible. The conversation was around actual EVSE equipment and so I specifically mentioned that all Tesla needs is an outlet (charger is in the car). That's when the MOT guy said wiring by itself would count.

I wonder if the HPWC would "count" as a charger, because it isn't, really.
 
The are no external chargers for any of these OEM cars. It's an imprecise colloquial term for an EVSE - Electric Vehicle Service Equipment. It's really just a safety system; nothing more, nothing less.

While that's true, Tesla has made a big deal about how their cars can plug in anywhere and don't need specific EVSE like other EVs. I recently saw a video in which Franz von Holzhausen corrected someone about needing a charger and said Model S only utilizes a stylish connector cord.

I'll bet that the provincial grant for EVSE equipment will require something in the way of a standard, like J1772.

Technically, the Tesla UMC is "EVSE", but I doubt the grant would apply to that (I actually wish it would, and I'd pick up a spare to leave in the car). The HPWC "may" squeak in as long as the gov't doesn't exclude it because it is a proprietary system.

In any event, getting up to 50% off (up to the $1,000 cap) for the home wiring is still a good deal.