"Los Angeles is leading the nation in cleaner, greener transportation solutions," Mayor Villaraigosa said. "By offering significant rebates for home electric chargers, we hope to make electric cars more cost-effective than gasoline powered vehicles for Angelenos."

Yesterday, the Board of Water and Power Commissioners approved the Electric Vehicle Home Charger Rebate Program - Charge Up LA - to ease the financial burden for residents who want to install a rapid (Level 2) charger at their home for qualifying electric vehicles. Beginning May 1, 2011, the LADWP's goal is to stprovide rebates for 3,000 to 5,000 EV home chargers.

The LADWP will track the EV charging patterns to ascertain where to allocate resources for potential energy growth. By monitoring charging patterns, the LADWP can guard against straining the grid.

As gas prices continue to rise, EVs could become a better economic value for LADWP customers. Compared to regular gas-powered vehicles, the "fuel" cost of an EV is about equal to $1 per gallon.

The range of the rebate will depend on the type of charger and the related equipment installed by the customer. To qualify for the rebate, customers must participate in LADWP's Residential Time-of-Use Rate, which provides a significant discount for electrical use during "off-peak" hours-weeknights and anytime on weekends.

During these "off peak" hours, EV owners will not only save money - they will take advantage of renewable energy from wind power. By charging at night - the peak hours of wind power and production - owners will maximize renewable wind power and will also ease the strain on the electric grid.

"We expect most of our customers to charge their electric vehicles at night and the result is a double win for the environment," General Manager Ron Nichols said. "We generate electricity with renewable wind power, and we store that renewable energy in car batteries that then powers Angeleno's cars during the day."

The rebate program is part of an overall strategy by the City to ensure that Los Angeles is EV ready. At the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, the Mayor announced a program to help residential customers within the City of Los Angeles go from permit to plug-in for home electric vehicle chargers under 7 days, provided the customer's electrical system can support the charging requirements.

Components of LADWP's EV strategy include:

EV Infrastructure: LADWP will upgrade the 86 existing City of Los Angeles owned public chargers. LADWP plans to invest in additional new public chargers after existing ones are upgraded. LADWP will also encourage private owners of older style chargers to upgrade to the new standards.

Data Sharing: LADWP is coordinating with major EV charger vendors to share data regarding EV purchases and driving patterns that will help determine locations for new chargers. LADWP is also developing a standard agreement with charger vendors to meet conditions of the U.S. Department of Energy's "The EV Project," aimed at bringing more federal grant funds to the city.

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