Colorado is making $500,000 in funding available for installing electric vehicle chargers in primarily rural homes, the Colorado Energy Office said Wednesday.
Launched this week, the EV Home Charge Grant program will provide money to municipal utilities and electric cooperatives that will then make rebates available to customers who want to install electric panels and make wiring upgrades to charge electric vehicles.
Under the program, utilities and cooperatives will use funding to offer rebates of $500 for paneling and wiring upgrades, for a total of $1,000 per customer. Lower income customers can qualify for $1,500 in rebates.
“For many Coloradans, access to charging is a barrier to driving an EV; especially in rural communities where there are often fewer public charging options,” energy office chief Will Toor said.
The program excludes Colorado’s investor-owned utilities—Xcel Energy and Black Hills Energy—both of which are involved with separate electric vehicle incentive programs.
The latest incentives for rural customers come as other state and federal incentives—including a $5,000 Colorado tax credit—have been boosting electric vehicle sales in Colorado.