Charge Ready Support

After completing Step 1 - Notice of Intent, an Account Manager will contact you to review the program and the terms of your potential participation. After you confirm your interest, we will evaluate your site and propose a location and the number of charging stations that could be deployed under the program. If you accept our proposal, we will reserve funding for your site, including deployment of new electric infrastructure and charging station rebate. (Participation in the Charge Ready Program must be approved by the property owner, if different from Customer Participant.)

You’ll then have 30 days to procure the charging stations in accordance with the approved terms of your participation in the program.

Once this step is completed, we’ll apply for construction permits before we can start construction at the site.

If your facility is located in a disadvantaged community, special terms and conditions are available and can be discussed with your Account Manager. Customer Participants located in disadvantaged communities may request a minimum of 5 charging stations per site (instead of 10 in the rest of the service territory) and will receive a rebate covering 100% of the base cost of the charging stations, including their installation (subject to all other terms and conditions of the pilot).

A disadvantaged community is an area identified by the California Environmental Protection Agency based on geographic, socioeconomic, public health, and environmental criteria in accordance to the Health and Safety Code § 39711.

Yes, you can deploy solar and storage in connection with the program, but will be responsible for associated costs. You will need to notify your Account Manager of any interest in solar/storage at the start of enrollment (Step 1 - Notice of Intent) as it will impact design on both sides of the meter.

We will

• Deploy a dedicated service meter, panel, and all conduits and wiring necessary to serve the approved number of charging stations. All related costs will be covered by the program.
• Install a new transformer if we determine that the existing transformer does not have sufficient capacity. All related costs will be covered by the program.
• Coordinate charging station installation work with the supplier selected by the Customer Participant. Charging station and related installation costs will be covered by the Customer Participant, but we may provide a rebate to offset some or all of these costs.

As a Customer Participant, you are responsible for procuring qualified charging stations through Charge Ready-approved vendors within 30 days after we confirm funding for your site. Participation in the program is required for 10 years and charging stations must be maintained in working order during the period. You must also subscribe to a data management plan with an approved EV charging network service provider and share non-personally identifiable information (PII) charging data at a transactional level with us.* Finally, you must also participate in future Demand Response (DR) programs.*

*This requirement does not apply to Level 1 charging stations.

For fleet applicants only, you may submit Step 1 - Notice of Intent prior to purchasing your EVs. Proof of ownership is required within 30 days following confirmation that you have been approved and funding for your site is reserved (after you sign Step 2 – Agreement). Non-fleet applicants are not required to provide proof of EV ownership.

The program follows requirements of the relevant Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) to obtain permits and secure inspection. If the site is not subject to an AHJ (e.g., certain government sites), the program follows applicable rules and regulations for that site.

Striping and signage within the work area (i.e., the area where SCE deploys the electric infrastructure) is covered by Charge Ready.

The easement secures SCE’s ownership of the electric infrastructure deployment through Charge Ready (in perpetuity). The terms of the easement are attached to the Participation Package.Please review with your legal counsel as soon as possible.

The demand response requirement applies only to Level 2 charging stations deployed through Charge Ready. Level 1 charging stations may not have communication capability and are therefore not required to be enrolled in a demand response program. The rest of your premises is not subject to this requirement either.

Yes. The installation may overlap across more than one address. The infrastructure deployed through Charge Ready will have its own dedicated service and meter.

Yes. Please review Schedule Charge Ready Program Pilot (CRRP) for more details.

Customer Participants will own the charging stations and be responsible for any usage and maintenance costs. You will determine your own policy about the use of the charging stations (e.g., access, financial contribution from EV drivers). Customer Participants with Level 2 charging stations will also have to procure EV charging network services from qualified providers and participate in future Demand Response (DR) programs.

The Customer Participant in the Charge Ready Program is responsible for paying the utility bills for the service account associated with the charging stations. All rate plans available to participants are “time-of-use” with higher rates on-peak and lower rates off-peak or mid-peak. As participants own and operate the charging stations, they have discretion to determine their charging policies, but encouraging off-peak or mid-peak charging and discouraging on-peak charging will help lower monthly energy costs.

Demand Response (DR) programs encourage customers to reduce energy usage in return for lower energy costs. We utilize DR events that help you save money when energy demand is up and electricity prices rise. This makes it a win-win situation by keeping your energy costs down and helping to prevent power shortages.

Customers selecting Level 2 charging stations are required to participate in one or more of our DR programs, once available.

Yes, prohibited locations are described below:

• Any place where moisture, fumes, or dust may interfere with operation or cause damage. The metering equipment may be enclosed to prevent any such result. Contact your Account Manager for specific details
• Any elevator shaft or hatchway
• Any room containing elevator equipment
• Any substation or transformer vault, unless such metering equipment is in an enclosure that is effectively barriered from the high-voltage compartment and contains no bare or exposed live parts
• Behind any switchboard having bare or exposed live parts, unless such meter is located at least 5 feet from such parts and is effectively barriered therefrom
• Any projection room
• Any hazardous location or locations where employees would need to pass through a hazardous area to gain access to metering or service equipment
• Attic or any place not in general use
• Show window or behind a sales counter

The minimum number of charge ports is ten (5 in disadvantaged communities, as defined by CalEnviroScreen 2.0). Any combination of Level 1 and Level 2, single- or multiple-port charging stations may meet the requirement.

The infrastructure construction involves deploying all electrical components from a dedicated service to the stub up (concrete pad for mounting charging stations with a weather-resistant cover that allows for testing of circuits), including meter, panel, conduit, and conductors (wires). As needed, we will also install a new transformer to serve the new EV charging load. We handle design, permitting, construction, and inspection of the foregoing and return the site in a “ready-to-use” state. The Charge Ready-approved vendor you select is responsible for installing qualified charging stations.

As customer participants own and operate the charging stations, they have discretion to determine the access and pricing policies for the charging stations. We recommend developing policies that encourage off-peak or mid-peak charging and discourage on-peak charging. This will help lower your monthly energy costs and maximize benefits from electric vehicles. We also recommend that Customer Participants understand the legal, regulatory, and other requirements that may be involved in operating charging stations. Unfortunately, we cannot advise customers on pricing or other aspects of providing EV charging services.

Customer Participants may develop the access policy to their charging stations at their own discretion. We also recommend that Customer Participants understand the legal, regulatory, and other requirements that may be involved in operating charging stations. Unfortunately, we cannot advise customers on pricing or other aspects of providing EV charging services.

The Charge Ready requirements are available in the EVSE RF.I