Electric Vehicle Chargers Get Big Discount In Los Angeles

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If you live in Los Angeles and you’ve been meaning to get in on the electric vehicle craze, then we’ve got some good news for you today. But you’re going to have to move quickly to take advantage of said good news, because it’s a bit on the transient side.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wheeled out the pilot program to begin this week, in which the city will offer rebates on electric vehicle chargers of up to $2,000. But like I said, you’d better act quickly, as the rebates stop after the first thousand people buy in.

However, word is that, if you miss this particular round of rebates, fear not: space will be made for additional applicants to get in on the free money frenzy starting May 1st, and eventually, will cover 5,000 chargers purchased.

And of course, as you might expect from most any government announcement of free cash money, you’ll have some hoops to jump through to get it even once you actually land one of these prized rebates. You’ll have to join in on the LADWP (Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which I’m told is almost nothing like the Department of Water and Power from the Tank Girl movie) Residential Time Of Use Rate program. This program actually offers discounts for off-peak hours usage, and in turn, will let the city see how usage patterns change with more widespread electric car use.

It doesn’t sound like a terrible deal, if you were looking to get an electric car in the first place; some may not like having the government snooping around in their power bill, but all things considered they probably could have done that anyway. There doesn’t seem to be any limit on what kind of charger you go with, either, though I’m sure there are plenty of extra rules you’ll find out about when you apply for your discount. So if you’re out in Los Angeles and want a cheaper way to charge a really expensive electric car, you’ll probably want to check this out for yourself, even as you wonder just where they’re getting the money for this.