Scotty, we need more power! (part 1)

The EV ProjectI received a quote from the government-funded program that provides the Level 2 chargers. Here’s the info:

  • Labor & Materials: $1529.00
  • Permit Fee: $200.00
  • EVSE Hardware Price: $0.00
  • EVSE Hardware Freight: $0.00
  • Promotion: -$250.00
  • DOE Utility Incentive: -$400
  • TOTAL: $1,079.00

Holy cow! I never thought the installation would be so expensive. Now, I’m not sure we can do this. Maybe if I get my electrician to run the new circuit, I can get the price down some. I called SPX (the program) and asked them to quote only the unit installation, because I was going to have my electrician run the circuit. Here is the second quote.

  • Labor & Materials: $969.00
  • Permit Fee: $0.00
  • EVSE Hardware Price: $0.00
  • EVSE Hardware Freight: $0.00
  • Promotion: -$250.00
  • DOE Utility Incentive: -$400
  • TOTAL: $319.00

I had contacted Blink, the company that makes the charger to see what installation entails. It requires eight mounting screws, the unit gets plugged in and then it has to get tied into your network, so it can phone home with the charging data, which is the purpose of the government funding. $319.00 for that?!? I protested, but in the long run I caved in and ordered the unit. Now I need to see how much it will cost to get my electrician to run the circuit.

About the author

An accidental EVangelist: On my way to work at Apple one morning, my car was rear-ended (and totaled) by an SUV, driven by a guy playing with his smartphone.
This led me to get my first plug-in vehicle.
I started blogging about my experiences immediately.
A year later, in 2013, I was hired by the dealership as their "EVangelist."
I became a board member with the Texas Electric Transportation Resources Alliance (www.TxETRA.org) and perform public speaking in the DFW area regarding electric vehicles and environmental issues.
I also teach others how to sell plug-in vehicles or manage EV sales.
I'm on a mission.

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