EUGENE WATER  &  ELECTRIC  BOARD

Most electric vehicles will offer multiple charging methods. In most cases, you can use either a normal 120-volt AC 20-amp ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) outlet, or have a 240-volt AC car-charging station installed. Read more about charging options

Your decision about which level of charging to set up at home will be based on the type of electric vehicle you purchase and the distance you travel. Most vehicles will allow you to use a 120-volt GFCI 20-amp outlet, a 240-volt charging station or a commercial charging station. Read more about charging options

Primarily for safety and statutory reasons, EWEB recommends that you always use a licensed and bonded electrician to install a car charging station. Check with the dealer or manufacturer of your EV to find out if they have contracted with specific electricians to install charging stations.

Eugene residents should contact the City of Eugene permit office for specific requirements regarding permitting and inspections prior to installation or any electrical system upgrades. If you elect to install the charging system on your own, it is still the homeowner's responsibility to ensure that the appropriate permits have been obtained.

Charging time depends on the type of charger you use, the size of your battery and how many miles you traveled prior to charging. Read more about electric vehicle charging

Also see the graph below to estimate EV charging time per miles traveled.

The best time to charge your vehicle at home is overnight, generally after 8 p.m. and before 6 a.m. This ensures that the electric system doesn't get overloaded at peak demand times. In addition, charging your car overnight generally increases the likelihood that the electricity you are using comes from renewable sources of power, such as wind and hydro.

EWEB customers currently pay the same rate no matter what time of day they charge their car. We are studying whether it is necessary to create "time of day" rates or peak pricing as EVs and other emergent technologies require EWEB to make capital improvements to its electric system over the next three to five years. See EWEB's current electric rates

Our goal is to reduce the number of electrical losses and decrease our need to buy energy during costly peak price periods so we can better serve our community in the long-term. Learn more about EWEB's energy future

There are many public charging stations in Eugene, including two at EWEB's riverfront headquarters location and two at our Roosevelt Operations Center. See a list of charging station maps

Fuses generally blow (or circuit breakers trip) when the amperage on a circuit exceeds the rated capacity. Have a licensed electrician look at your panel and your charging station needs to determine whether you need to upgrade a circuit, or upgrade your electric service to a higher amperage rating. Please note that a dedicated circuit is recommended for vehicle charging.

If available, you can use a standard 120-volt GFCI outlet in your garage or near where you park your electric vehicle. A dedicated circuit is recommended.

If you do not have an available and safe outlet where you park, you will need to look for public charging stations. There are many public charging stations in Eugene, including two at EWEB's riverfront headquarters location and two at our Roosevelt Operations Center. See a list of charging station maps

Plug-in vehicle charging equipment installation costs can vary greatly depending on the configuration of the home and electrical circuitry, local code requirements, and the type of equipment installed. Contact a licensed electrical contractor for a cost estimate.

It depends on how far you drive the car, the car's efficiency (similar to miles-per-gallon in gas cars) and the cost of electricity.

EWEB has three electric rate tiers that increase in cost as more energy is used. Therefore, the cost to charge the car is more expensive if you fall in a higher tier. Review your monthly bill to determine which how much electricity you are using and which tier this falls within.

You can estimate your costs on a per-mile basis. Most electric vehicles have an efficiency between 3 to 4 miles per kilowatt-hour. Also taking tiered electric rates into consideration, the costs for your electric vehicle may range from 1.8 cents to 3.4 cents per mile. If you drive 10,000 miles per year, your electric bill could increase by $180 to $340 per year. However, this increase would be offset by not paying for gasoline.

See the graph below to estimate how much it will cost to charge your electric vehicles based on miles traveled.

The cost-comparison depends on a number of factors. For illustrative purposes, let's assume that you have a fairly efficient gas-powered vehicle that gets 30 miles per gallon. At $3 per gallon, your fuel cost is 10 cents per mile. Based on the previous example, the cost of an electric vehicle ranges from 1.8 cents to 3.4 cents per mile. Therefore, if you drive 10,000 miles per year, it would cost between $180 and $340 a year to power an electric vehicle, and about $1,000 per year to drive a 30-mile-per-gallon gas-powered vehicle (at $3 per gallon).

The total cost of ownership of an electric vehicle using current technology is typically less than an internal combustion engine vehicle. This is true if gasoline prices stay at or above $3 per gallon and you own the electric vehicle for more than 10 years.

The cost of electricity is much lower than gasoline. EVs will also likely have lower maintenance costs. The internal combustion engine has hundreds of moving parts that require oil, coolant and filter changes every 3,000 to 5,000 miles. An electric vehicle motor will generally require one yearly check up to top off brake fluids and lubricate bearings. EV owners may need to replace their battery during that 10 year period, depending on the type of battery.

Commercial (or non-residential) accounts are charged for both energy and demand. Energy is the kilowatt hours (kWh) used during each meter reading period (about four weeks). Demand is the largest 15 minutes of energy used in the building during each meter reading period. Demand is presented as kilowatts (kW) and represents one 15-minute period in the meter reading period when the building's energy use was highest (demand-period). Both fees should be considered to determine the cost of hosting an EV charging station on a commercial account.

A Level 2 charging station can use up to 7 kilowatts (kW) to charge one EV. (For two EVs, charging could be 14 kW.) If an EV charges during the building's demand-period, there will be an additional demand cost. If an EV is charged at a time when it will not increase the demand, the cost will only be the energy (kWh) rate.

Unfortunately, without smart meters, EWEB does not know when your demand-period occurs. For many commercial customers, the demand-period occurs during the late afternoon in the summer, and in the morning in the winter. To host a charging station without increasing the monthly demand cost, charging would need to occur when the building's electric use is low. For many commercial accounts, the best time to charge an EV and avoid increasing the demand fee is overnight.

Because of the demand fee, the exact cost for EV charging on a commercial account is difficult to answer. The minimum cost to charge an EV on a commercial account is the energy used (kWh) multiplied by the energy rate. If the EV was charged any time but the demand-period, and demand was unaffected, the energy cost is the total cost of the EV charge.

However, if the EV was charged during the demand-period just one time in a meter reading period, it could increase the building's monthly demand, and demand charges would increase. As you can see in the example below, the demand fee can greatly affect the cost of operating an EV. The following example uses EWEB's 2011 medium general service rates for commercial customers.

The example above used a building where the EV was mixed with other electrical loads and the demand increase could be avoided if charging occurred any time but the demand-period. If the charging station is the only load on the meter, there is no way to avoid the demand being increased. Of course, the more EVs charged during a meter reading period, the more the demand cost can be spread across a number of EV charges.

Currently, the residential rate structure only has an energy (kWh) charge. However, if you compare commercial energy rates with residential energy rates, you will see that residential energy rates are higher. One reason for this difference is residential energy rates have an assumed demand component included in the rate, whereas the commercial rates separate energy and demand. EWEB also pays a demand fee when purchasing wholesale power. In the future, a Time of Use (TOU) rate structure could be adopted to manage utility (peak) demand costs and provide customers a price signal when prices are higher. As you can see, prices are higher when a demand component is included.

Learn more about energy and demand rates on commercial accounts

One of the challenges of preparing for an increased electric vehicle adoption rate is that it is not yet clear how large the market for EVs will be, or how fast it will grow. During early market development, when the number of plug-in electric vehicles is relatively small, we do not anticipate any significant system-wide impacts to the electricity grid or electricity supply. It will be important to evaluate and learn from our experience during these early years, to plan for potential future impacts.

As the number of plug-in electric vehicles grows and we learn how customers are charging their vehicles, we'll be able to better determine the impact to the electricity grid. Avoiding EV charging during times of high wholesale prices will be an important policy objective.

We may determine that it is necessary to reinforce the distribution system in neighborhoods that have large numbers of plug-in vehicle owners and faster, higher-voltage charging systems. EWEB is committed to making the necessary upgrades as quickly and efficiently as possible.

EWEB's primary source of electricity is hydropower, which is fossil-fuel free. EWEB also generates and purchases wind power for use by EWEB customers.

EWEB's source of electricity isn't carbon-free, however. Two-thirds of our electricity comes from the federal Bonneville Power Administration. Most of that power is hydroelectricity, but BPA also purchases power on the wholesale market that sometimes comes from natural gas and coal-fired power plants in the Western United States, especially during peak demand periods (generally, 5 to 9 a.m. and in the early evenings).

Plugging your car in overnight ensures that you are charging your vehicle at times when the percentage of wind, hydro and other renewable energy output is at its highest in the region.

Initially, only "one-way" charging stations will be available. In other words, your EV will draw power from the electrical grid but will not have the capability to feed power back into the grid. However, utilities are researching the potential benefits and feasibility for allowing for electric car owners to sell excess vehicle power back to the utility while plugging into charging stations. There are numerous technical, economic and process questions to be addressed, but the concept has potential.