Arizona utility Salt River Project (SRP) really wants its customers to drive electric cars, so it’s now offering any customer who buys an EV a $1,000 rebate in a pilot program.
Electric car rebate in Arizona
SRP has one of the largest workplace charging programs in Arizona, and by the end of 2021, its sedan fleet will be fully electric.
Marc Campbell, SRP manager of sustainable programs, told Fox10:
There are approximately 20,000 registered electric vehicles in SRP service territory in the greater metropolitan Phoenix area. We have set an aggressive sustainability goal of 500,000 electric vehicles by 2035.
There are a number of community benefits that come along with this. Reduce greenhouse gas, tailpipe emissions, improved air quality, and of course, reduced maintenance costs.
This is really something that is part of our corporate strategic direction, to get out and support the community to electrify transportation.
SRP is doing its bit to incentivize EV driving. On March 3, it published “21 reasons to drive an electric vehicle in 2021” on its blog. (You can read that here.) No. 1 is their $1,000 rebate, and No. 2 notes that SRP offers $250 off a Level 2 charger when you buy it from SRP marketplace.
It also points out that vehicle registration fees are cheaper for electric cars in Arizona than for ICE cars:
Through 2021, the registration for fully battery-powered electric vehicles is calculated based on a 0.0004 multiplier compared to a 0.02381 multiplier for any vehicle that has an internal combustion engine. So while a typical $30,000 car would have an annual registration fee of $714.30, a $30,000 EV would have a $12 registration fee.
Further, Arizona EV drivers get a special license plate that gives HOV lane privileges, and of course, not have to bother with getting emissions tested.
SRP has an EV Community, too. You can join here, and this is what it offers:
As part of the Electric Vehicle (EV) Community, you’ll stay plugged into opportunities, news and other SRP EV initiatives. Our members have the chance to provide valuable feedback, which helps shape SRP’s EV programs, rate plans and charging solutions and pave the way for future EV owners. Join now and we’ll send you a $50 Amazon.com gift card just for signing up!
SRP has a EV Community Central web page for signed-up members, which can be found here. It points out that in 2010, there were only four electric vehicles registered in Arizona, and by 2018, it had reached more than 18,000.
Electrek’s take
From where I’m sitting, this looks like exactly the sort of thing all utilities ought to be doing: incentivizing customers to switch to electric cars and supporting them with easy-to-access information. This is in contrast to state legislatures currently trying to pass even more bills that will charge EV drivers more to register their cars, since they feel it’s “unfair” that they pay less than ICE car drivers.
If there are any EV drivers who belong to the SRP community, we’d love to hear what you think about your experience in the comments below.
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