SCE - Dedicated Meter and Separate NEMA 14-50 Outlet Cost

TommyBoy · Jul 16, 2013

I live in Orange County and have Southern California Edison as my provider.

I ran the numbers on their website and the recommended EV plan for me is a separate meter for super off-peak charging at $0.11/kWh via a dedicated NEMA 14-50 outlet in my garage.

I was wondering if any of you have had one of these installed and what type of cost are we talking about? I think the meter is free from SCE but I must pay for the electrician and wiring. I'm just wondering if this is $500 or $2500. My house is only 10 years old and all of the electrical panels and meters are literally on the other side of the garage wall where the Tesla would be parked. Maybe 5 foot cable runs through the drywall.

My only other option is bumping into Tier 4 at $0.45kWh which basically makes it almost as expensive to charge as to buy gas!

Thank you.

Apoclyps · Jul 16, 2013

What about just the TOU plan (same meter), where it combines house and car. you charge your car between 12 and 6 am at 10c/kwh, but during the day, you are charged around 15c/kwh for the first 100 kwh, then you are bumped to ~35c/kwh. Just 2 tiers.

I started off with the 4-tier plan to see how much my electric bill would increase. went from $40 to $150. so in August, I am switching to the TOU plan (same meter) to see how much I save.

I had a 14-50 outlet installed in the garage by an electrician. He took the main line from the meter, split it and ran it into the garage (maybe 5 feet) to a new subpanel, which fed the 14-50, then connected the new subpanel to the existing subpanel. that was $900, plus the $60 permit from the city.

edit: forgot to mention, i live in a condo.

simplesolar · Jul 16, 2013

I would check your daily usage on edison's website. If you use alot of electricity during the day time going to TOU might be not cost effective, if not TOU will be cost effective. Also adding second meter will be pricy to install so factor in the cost in that in the comparison. I would weigh out both options to see what is most beneficial to you. Have you consider going solar?

laalan · Jul 16, 2013

I spent $800 plus permit to install a second meter and breaker box in Orange. I ran the cable to the 14-50 with less than $100 worth of parts and electrician tied it to box.

I did this two years ago whenI had two Leafs. It has paid for itself.

$.11 per kwh ev time of use has a quick payback.

1000 - 1200 mi per month averages $60. Saving about $120 per month in electricity vs tier 3. Then I add the Leaf at $40 per month for 1000 mi of driving and $80 per month savings in electric. $200 per month payback on a $1000 investment 2 years ago isn't bad. Not as good as if I had put the $1000 into Tesla stock, but not small change.

TommyBoy · Jul 17, 2013

Thanks so much for the replies. I can live with $1000 to install the second meter. At $0.11/kWh between 12am and 6am on a timed charge the ROI should be 6 months for me with the amount of gas we are currently spending per month.

We use a lot of electricity during the day. I work from home and don't like to be uncomfortable. We keep the AC at 77F and in the summer we will have a couple of $300 monthly bills and for the past two years I ran the numbers and we average $156 per month. TOU wouldn't matter to us because we cannot adjust our electricity consumption during the day to take advantage of the cheaper rates in the evening. SCE recommended the second meter and $0.11 rate.

laalan · Jul 17, 2013

EV TOU for SCE starts at 9pm and goes to noon.

xray · Jul 17, 2013

I think the second meter installation costs are highly variable depending on what's needed for the upgrade. In my situation, the informal estimate by a couple of electricians was for about 5 to 6K. So basically, it didn't make sense for me because we are able to decrease our usage and so we're doing the combined Home and EV TOU.

laalan · Jul 18, 2013

We have underground utilities so all they had to do was put a splitter box below the existing meter and run a short wire to new meter and breaker. Hardest part was cutting stucco to install the splitter box. Started at 8am and all complete by noon including city sign offs.

Blaze · Dec 27, 2013

I am looking for an experienced electrician who has installed a second meter. I have met with a few good contractors but they have not gone through the second meter process. Would you recommend your electrician?

laalan · Dec 27, 2013

Electricfxcorp.com. Awesome job on two meter sce job in Orange CA. Over two years ago and would use him again in a heartbeat. Gallery on his website shows examples

Blaze · Mar 8, 2014

Yesterday, SCE installed the meter on my dedicated panel. This went fairly smooth. Just need the S to be delivered.

laalan · Mar 8, 2014

Which electrician?

jcaspar · Mar 19, 2014

I just had a time of use meter installed to get our local SMUD EV rates. See picture below. The install amounted to the conduit and meter box to the right in the picture. Permit was 100$, install was 450$. This was for a 100 amp panel but I supplied the wire (2 gauge). This is about as simple of an install as it can get so most will be more expensive.

laalan · Mar 19, 2014

Awesome simple solution

leshore · Apr 5, 2014

I just completed installation of a separate meter. My electrician had a simple plan to tie it to my existing panel, but SCE nixed that plan. They required a separate pull box which required cutting into the stucco, making the job that much more complicated. I paid $1500, and another couple hundred for replastering. I highly recommend my electrician, who is based here in Orange County. If you want his contact info, let me know.

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SCE - Dedicated Meter and Separate NEMA 14-50 Outlet Cost

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