EV Rebates Available for EV Charging & Fleets in ComEd Utility District – CleanTechnica

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Providing power for more than 4 million customers and about 70% of the population of Illinois, ComEd is a giant utility. Now it is turning its attention to good. (Or, well, it’s stimulating more consumer demand by incentivizing a switch to electric vehicles.) At the recent Chicago Auto Show, ComEd announced that it was providing $100 million in rebates to homes and businesses to encourage more EV adoption. The rebates are available for customers in three categories:

• residential EV charger and installation costs,
• all-electric fleet vehicles,
• business and public sector customers to prepare for charging infrastructure.

If interested, you can apply here: www.comed.com/clean.

“ComEd is focused on ensuring that not only is the grid equipped for increased electrification, but that our customers and communities have the support needed to navigate the transition to EVs and the benefits they provide for customers as well as the environment,” said Melissa Washington, SVP of Customer Operations and Strategic Initiatives at ComEd. “Building on the success of last year’s rebate programs, ComEd is pleased to launch another $100M that will help customers take steps toward adding at-home L2 charging, fleet EV projects for fleets of any size, and to catalyze more investment in building a network of regional public and private charging to accommodate the growing demand for EVs in northern Illinois.”

Of this $100 million, the majority, $53 million is for business and public sector EV fleet purchases. This can even extend down to “small businesses pursuing as few as one electric vehicle for commercial use, regardless of small-, medium- or heavy-duty weight class size.”

Another $38 million is “to support infrastructure ‘make ready’ upgrades needed for the installation of public and private Level 2 (L2) and Level 3 (DCFC) charging stations for non-residential customers.”

And then there’s almost $9 million for residential customers wanting to buy and installed home Level 2 charging stations. Rebates are available up to $3,750 for those.

This all follows similar incentives last year from ComEd totaling $90 million, and it comes out of Illinois’ huge Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), which includes a goal of reaching 1 million EVs on Illinois roads by 2030.

“The ComEd rebates that support EV adoption and accelerate the expansion of charging infrastructure are pivotal in driving a sustainable future,” said Megha Lakhchaura State EV Officer of Illinois. “These initiatives will empower consumers to make cleaner choices and support the transition to zero emission transportation.”

Furthermore, the program includes an important equity component. More than half of the funds are dedicated to low-income customers and equity-eligible communities. Higher rebates are also available for them. “ComEd’s CEJA-enabled programs to get more zero-emission vehicles moving are critical for cutting health-damaging air pollution, particularly in vulnerable communities that face a higher burden from lung disease,” says Brian Urbaszewski, Director of Environmental Health Programs at Respiratory Health Association. “We encourage all eligible applicants to take advantage of this great economic opportunity that will benefit both them and their neighbors.”

As always, I’m particularly happy to see electric school bus deployments, helping to provide cleaner air that is critical during a child’s development and has even been shown to lead to clearer, more intelligent brain development, not to mention healthier lungs. So, it’s nice to see some of this funding is going to schools for electric school buses and charging equipment. “We are pleased to see that ComEd’s rebate offers for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, including electric school buses, are underway and picking up steam,” says Susan Mudd, Senior Policy Advocate at Environmental Law & Policy Center. “Getting kids out of dirty diesel buses and communities having fewer diesel trucks and buses passing through them every day will help kids and adult residents’ lungs and health. With the new federal administration’s threats to numerous air quality programs, ComEd’s program is especially critical, giving school districts the opportunity to provide kids a clean ride to school and others a lifeline to modernize and clean up their vehicle fleets.”

Here’s a short list of achievements and milestones from ComEd’s EV initiatives so far:

• EV expansion projects in more than 300 ZIP codes
• Nearly 3,500 residential and commercial DC and level 2 charging ports.
• More than 200 new and pre-owned EV fleet vehicles added for municipal customers, business customers, and school districts.
• More than half directed to low-income customers and equity-eligible communities.

This is not the only EV program ComEd has running. It’s also got an effective program for helping local governments support EV adoption. “ComEd has teamed up with the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus in developing a first of its kind training for municipalities and local governments, called the EV Readiness program, helping them to create local ordinances, safety, and infrastructure plans designed to accommodate the growing demand for EVs in their communities. Since that time more than 41 local governments in northern Illinois have been reached by the program, receiving assistance with creating local policy to ensure safe and effective regional transportation electrification.”

In total, there are now more than 126,000 EVs in Illinois, more than 112,000 of them in northern Illinois where ComEd operates.