Help Needed to Remedy Persistently Low Rebate Levels

As can be seen in the chart at the top, the rebate count for January was exceedingly low with only 40 rebates, just over half of the low number of 78 from January 2021.

Continuing recent trends, the Toyota RAV4 Prime plug-in hybrid dominated with 17 rebates, with PHEVs overall accounting for 28 of the 40 rebates.

Some changes could be afoot if SB-4, raised jointly by the Transportation and Environment Committees of the legislature, become law. There are several CHEAPR-related provisions included in the draft text. This is the description to the best of our knowledge.

Environmental Justice Focus

There is a statement of purpose now that focuses on environmental justice communities and lower income individuals. It is phrased as, “The commissioner shall prioritize the granting of rebates to residents of environmental justice communities, residents having household incomes at or below three hundred per cent of the federal poverty level, and residents who participate in state and federal assistance programs, including, but not limited to, the state-administered federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, state-administered federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or a Head Start program established pursuant to section 10-16n. The program shall provide rebates of five thousand dollars to residents of environmental justice communities.”

This represents a loosening of rules for income limited individuals, often referred to by the shorthand LMI. Currently, only participants in state and federal assistance plans are eligible for the Rebate+ incentives and very few have been used. There were zero in January. This expansion to 300% of the federal poverty level should expand the pool. The poverty level for a family of 4 is $27,750. Aside from an overly limited applicant pool, the rebate+ incentives arguably suffer from being awarded after the fact. If that can be addressed, it would be up to DEEP and the board to determine the process.

The LMI incentive is increased to $5000. Currently, a BEV carries a total incentive of $4250. It is not clear if $5,000 applies to everything.

Standard Rebate and Higher MSRP Cap

The standard rebate still exists and the rules are below.

MSRP cap increase to $50,000. This is the level where it was before being lowered in 2019 to $42,000, which began the chronic underspending and has more recently resulted in a program tilted heavily toward PHEVs. For example, over the past 4 months, BEVs accounted for 30% of CHEAPR rebates, but represent 59% of all registered EVs.

While the EV Club has pushed for a restoration of the $50,000 level for the past couple of years, in the current inflationary environment, it arguably could be higher. The average transaction price of an EV, according to Kelly Blue Book, is $56,437 (excluding Tesla). The marketplace has blown through the cap level.

Inclusion of Fleets

Expansion of program to include municipalities, businesses, organizations, and tribal entities. These organizations are entitled to up to 10 rebates per year up to a max total of 20. Organizations located in an environmental justice community can receive more at the discretion of the DEEP Commissioner. This could be a big help.

eBikes

eBikes are now included with a rebate of $500 for a bike costing no more than $2,000. In the Transport Hartford/Center for Latino Progress meetings, they have said that $2,000 isn’t enough for a quality bike. We support eBike rebates, along with their efforts to advocate for a higher price cap.

Higher Budget

The CHEAPR budget established in the 2019 legislation is $3MM per year, which has been underspent since the day it started. With the expansion of incentives described in this post, the spend level looks to be considerably higher. The proposed legislation authorizes the program to spend “a minimum of $3MM per year.” This indicates that more funds are forthcoming, but it doesn’t specify a cap. CHEAPR funding comes from the clean air fees collected as part of auto registration. These fees bring in about $8MM per year. $3MM have been going to CHEAPR with the rest having gone to the general fund. The new legislation designates that 57.5% go to transportation funding, though it is possible that other programs could be included.

Board

There are proposed changes to the board, specifically the inclusion of a “representative of an association representing electric vehicle manufacturers,” and a “representative of an association representing electric vehicle consumers.” For the former, we don’t know if this is a way to draw in the new EV-exclusive manufacturers or if it can be filled by an organization such as the Automotive Alliance which represents legacy OEMs. The manufacturer representative is appointed by the Senate President Pro Tempore. The consumer organization representative is appointed by the House minority leader. These replace 2 current positions appointed by the same individuals. Those positions are currently filled and it is not known if those people will depart.

There are also a couple of unfilled board positions, appointed at large by DEEP, and designated for representatives of an industrial fleet or transportation company.

The board is characterized as operating in an advisory capacity so it is not completely clear how much power they have when it comes to setting policy.

Other Legislative Items

In this and other bills, there are other items of note.

• Right to charge legislation to make it easier for residents (owners and renters) to be able to install a charging station.
• Adoption of California medium and heavy duty vehicle emission standards, pending results of DEEP analysis. (Does anyone seriously doubt we desperately need this??) Update: DEEP released their expected endorsement of this measure on March 9th. (This is bill HB-5039.)
• Allowance for school to enter into 10-year contracts for EV school buses. Currently, only 5-year contracts are allowed. For EV buses, 10 years are needed to make the numbers work.
• Accelerated purchases of smart traffic signals (yes, this really does reduce emissions).
• EV charging stations that go beyond the federal Infrastructure bill and highway corridors to cover communities with lack of charging access.
• Active transportation – pedestrian and bike paths.
• Any project involving state funds must not add to carbon emissions. If it does, there needs to be offsets.

Advocacy:

We are supportive this bill. There are many good things in it. We would prefer an MSRP cap of $55,000 for CHEAPR to reflect the realities of the electric car marketplace, as well as a higher cap on the cost of eBikes.

Go here to find your legislators and contact information.

The Transportation Committee and the Environment Committee will hold a joint public hearing on Friday, March 11, 2022 at 11:00 A.M. via Zoom.  The public hearing can be viewed via YouTube Live.  In addition, the public hearing may be recorded and broadcast live on CT-N.com.  Individuals who wish to testify via Zoom must register using the On-line Testimony Registration Form.  Registration will close on Thursday, March 10, 2022 at 3:00 P.M.  Speaker order of approved registrants will be posted on the Transportation Committee website on Thursday, March 10, 2022 at 6:00 P.M. under Public Hearing Testimony.  If you do not have internet access, you may provide testimony via telephone.  To register to testify by phone, call the Phone Registrant Line at (860) 240-0590 to leave your contact information.  Please email written testimony in PDF format to TRAtestimony@cga.ct.gov.  Testimony should clearly state testifier name and related Bills.  The Committee requests that testimony be limited to matters related to the items on the Agenda.  The first hour of the hearing is reserved for Legislators, Constitutional Officers, State Agency Heads and Chief Elected Municipal Officials.  Speakers will be limited to three minutes of testimony.  The Committee encourages witnesses to submit a written statement and to condense oral testimony to a summary of that statement.  All public hearing testimony, written and spoken, is public information.  As such, it will be made available on the CGA website and indexed by internet search engines.

United Illuminating CT EV Charging Program FINAL 02182022

Recovery Induced Rebound in EV Sales

After a truly dismal, pandemic-influenced 2020, where EV registrations increased by an anemic 18.2%, there has been a rebound in 2021 to an increase of 54.9%. CT now has 21,382 EVs, up from 13,800 one year ago. Of course, the pandemic is still with us, but the brief, severe recession is over. Demand has been sharply stronger. If anything, the current numbers are supply constrained.

Newly Registered Vehicles

Keep in mind these are net registration numbers and that there is always turnover in the fleet. If we look at the number of new EVs registered in 2021 vs 2020, the trend is steeper with a 121% increase.

There was an administrative extension of registrations in 2020 that may have caused the Jan ’21 number to be somewhat overstated.

This increased rate of growth is good news, but on a more cautionary note, it puts the state at only 4.3% of the way toward its 2030 goal of 500,000 registered EVs.

The underlying detail of these numbers, which allows us to chart fuel type, make, model, city, etc. is not yet available. We expect it within the next couple of weeks. Nationally, the big sellers have been the Tesla Model Y and 3, Mustang Mach-E, VW ID.4, and Toyota RAV4 Prime. There were several important introductions that happened too late in the year to have much of an impact, such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Mercedes-Benz EQS, GMC Hummer, and Rivian R1T and R1S. Of course, GM suffered a serious blow with its large recall and manufacturing interruption of its Bolt and Bolt EUV. The Honda Clarity PHEV ceased to be produced in 2021, though there is reportedly some dealer stock around.

By Analiese Mione

But I love my car. I have heard that refrain so many times when speaking to everyday people about driving electric. Now you can keep the car you love and nix the emissions and costly maintenance with an ICE to EV conversion.

ICE to EV Conversions

This is neither a simple nor inexpensive operation, at least not yet. A visit to Inductive Autoworks in Tolland, CT to attend a VIP tour of their new EV conversion facility provided a wide eyed, in depth look at what’s involved. Dive into the video below for a quick overview and read more below about how Inductive Autoworks is bringing EV technology into the mainstream.

Appearing right to left in the video below are Jonathan Untied, co-founder, President and Chief Software Engineer; co-founder, Lead Electrical Engineer Dennis Manning, and co-founder, Lead Mechanical Engineer Joe Monasky.

Strip Out the Engine

Step 1 is to remove the gas engine, gas tank and clutch, if it has one. Inductive Autoworks’ triumvirate of founding engineers said this is the easy part and their shop does it fairly quickly.

Put in a Motor, Battery and other EV Conversion Components

Step 2, better yet phase 2, is to add all the EV components and connect them. EV conversions are custom engineered, take time and cost more than you’d think. Think of all the parts of an EV that don’t exist in an ICE vehicle. All these need to be added including an electric motor, battery to charge the motor, on board charger, charging port, and battery management system. Learn more about batteries and other EV conversion components, and how to get them talking to one another, in the photos above and videos below.

Want to take a deeper dive into all the critical EV parts and how the Inductive Autoworks team collaborates to design, create and install them so you can drive your favorite car as an EV? Watch the beginning of the video below from fellow EV Club of CT member Paul Braren who attended their pm open house. Watch the whole video to visit each display station including the CNC and converted EV.

But for the classic car lover in particular, conversions are THE solution to keeping the car running in an environmentally friendly way. For the ROI types among us, factor into your spreadsheet the cost savings from not maintaining a combustion engine (who loves ordering rare and expensive parts from Germany?), switching to electric vs gas (50%+savings), and the priceless improvement in performance. We do want to see your analysis! For now, there is no word on whether CHEAPR incentives will apply to conversions.

Building an EV Conversion Brain Trust

Wondering about car insurance for a conversion? We are too, so more on that coming soon, but rest assured Inductive has registered and insured converted vehicles like the Mazda RX-8 below. Each time Inductive does a custom conversion for a particular ICE make and model, like the Mazda RX-8, the design and fabrication specs gets stored in a module they can reuse to convert another vehicle at a much lower cost.

Custom Machined Parts

Custom parts are designed on a computer and fabricated in house on the CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machine, thereby ensuring accuracy and consistency while ruling out human inefficiency and error. The next time they have to machine the same part, they call up the design and reuse it at marginal expense to the customer.

Watch the video below to learn about their protyping, testing at the test bench, get a closeup of the Mazda RX-8 conversion and test Leaf used to evaluate how they can swap out spent batteries for new ones. The tricky part is getting the car to accept the new part, and that’s a software problem. Good thing they have a software engineer on the team.

Driving the Evolution to EVs

The team is also working towards offering kit conversions for DIYers, but this is an evolution. If you’re looking to get a new battery for your spent 2012 Nissan Leaf for example, reach out because battery replacements are part of the evolving EV ecosystem they’re building. And yes, old batteries will be used for stationary storage.

Interested in an EV conversion or other EV services? Reach out to Inductive Autoworks at inquiry@inductiveauto.com or +1 860-222-0915 and let them know the EV Club of CT sent you.

Post by Barry Kresch

All are welcome to our virtual meeting on January 25th at 7 PM to hear and ask questions about the new incentive program for EV charging to be offered by the EDCs (utilities, or electricity distribution companies).

With us that evening will be Stefanie Keohane of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), which initiated this program as part of its grid modernization efforts, along with Charles Spence and Marriott Dowden of United Illuminating. Charles and Marriott are the consumer-facing individuals for the residential and commercial aspects of the program respectively.

Two recent blog posts discussed the single family and multi-unit residential parts of the program. There are also incentives targeted to workplace, commercial, and fleets, encompassing both level 2 and level 3 charging. Incentives include subsidies for charging hardware, installation (including make ready), and electricity costs (including demand charge mitigation).

This is a statewide program. Even though our speakers are from United Illuminating, Eversource customers have access to the identical program.

This meeting is being recorded and will be uploaded to the club YouTube channel.

The meeting is free but registration is required: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYrcuutrzguGdd3O4Z_k9pqFUXrxPwSBK1b

Post by Barry Kresch

Charging Incentives Via The Utilities

The incentives drafted by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority that will be made available through Eversource and United Illuminating (commonly referred to as utilities, but in regulatory parlance known as EDCs or electric distribution companies) have been mostly finalized. There are a number of parts to them and we will be writing about them periodically over the next few weeks. There are subsidies for residential, commercial, municipal, and fleets. The residential charging program includes incentives for multi-unit dwellings (MUD) as well as single family. Incentives include subsidized charging stations, installation, make-ready, discounts on electricity, and demand charge mitigation.

The grid at the top and the explanation below cover the incentives for single family residences, which became effective on January 1, 2022.

The incentives for charging stations require the purchase of utility approved hardware. Incentives are not retroactive. The list of approved chargers will be published on January 20, 2022. Approved chargers will be smart chargers. Taking the subsidy requires enrollment in the demand-response charging program.

Residential Single Family Incentives

• Up to a $500 incentive for purchase of a level 2 smart charging station. Smart = WiFi connected at a minimum of 25 MBPS or cellular service, 4G minimum.
• Up to a $500 incentive to bring a 240 volt line to the garage, if needed.
• Owners give the utility permission to see charging data.
• Up to $200 per year for participating in demand-response charging events. Two year commitment required.

It is possible to get charging incentives for a non-networked (i.e. dumb) charging station that may have been previously installed or even for one that is bought new. In this case the charging information can be obtained either via vehicle telematics (if the vehicle has that capability), or the utility can send a device that will enable a dumb charger to access WiFi. There will be no charge for this device. The EDCs will be publishing a list of which vehicles qualify for telematics.

A $100 enrollment incentive is offered to people who participate using either telematics or a charger upgrade device.

• An owner buying a new dumb charger is not eligible for the hardware subsidy, but is eligible for the installation subsidy.

The managed charging program in year one is limited to a demand response program. EV owners can get up to $200 per year ($50/month over 4 months) for their participation, whether that participation comes via a smart charger, telematics, or upgraded dumb charger. The demand response program is in effect from June 1 through September 30. During high demand periods, the utilities are permitted to reduce the rate of charge going to your vehicle. The vehicle will charge at roughly the rate of a level 1 charger during these periods. Typically, an event will last up to 3 hours and occur between 3:00 – 9:00 PM. There can be up to 15 events per month. Customers will be notified in advance of these events and be permitted to opt-out. If a customer opts out of 2 or fewer events and is plugged in at least once per month, they still qualify for the $50 monthly incentive. A 2-year commitment is required. Event notifications are to be communicated via smartphone app, web portal, email, or text message, usually the day before the event, but sometimes the day of the event. If you are not home and therefore not plugged in during an event, and have not opted-out, that counts as participation.

The demand-response incentives will be paid off-bill after the end of September.

There is no incentive for those who trickle-charge (level 1).

If a home does not have enough space in its panel to accommodate an EV charger and wishes to upgrade electric service, that is out of scope of the program. Service upgrades can run $5000 or more. Before doing that, it may pay to find out how much room you have or whether you can share a circuit. Perhaps you can install a lower-powered unit than you originally planned.

An Advanced Managed Charging program will be offered beginning in 2023. Details have not yet been finalized.

If someone uses the hardware and installation incentives, but then does not allow the demand-response throttling, and therefore will not collect any of the $200 incentive, it is not known if the EDC will try to claw back the hardware and installation incentives.

Note: Eversource is maintaining its Connected Solutions branding and migrating existing customers into the new program.

We are planning a virtual meeting for January 25th at 7:00 PM, which will include speakers from PURA and UI.

This is the Eversource splash page with links to apply for the incentives. This is the UI page. There is still being work done on the back end and the application portals will be open by the end of Q1 2022.

Incentives available to Eversource and UI customers only.

Chargers for DOT and Public

Those driving by the CT Department of Transportation campus in Newington may have noticed a bank of chargers looking like the one in the picture at the top of the post (thank you to Paul Braren for the photo).

There are chargers in front of the headquarters building. These will be open to DOT employees, visitors, and the public. There are other chargers in the visitors parking lot (https://www.plugshare.com/location/354128) and in the motor pool lot for state fleet vehicles.

These chargers are manufactured by Enfield, CT company EVSE, LLC. As you can see from the photo, they have a retractable cable, a nice feature which helps avoid the damage that can happen to chargers where the cable is manually wrapped, but in practice is often left on the ground, susceptible to damage.

EVs in the state fleet and EV chargers is the kind of holiday gift we want to receive. The chargers will be turned on by the beginning of January.

Publicity Event Held at EVSE, LLC, a Manufacturer of Commercial Grade EV Charging Equipment

Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm made two appearances in CT on December 2nd to promote the job-creation and clean energy aspects of the recently passed Infrastructure bill. This first stop in Enfield, where the photo was taken, consisted of a tour of the EVSE factory followed by a press conference. The Secretary also dropped a few words about the EV purchase-incentive provisions and another $6 billion of grant-based EV infrastructure funding for communities contained in the pending Build Back Better legislation. This is part of  a 2-day swing through New England.

The community grants are targeted for people who don’t live in single family homes or otherwise lack access to charging. The EV purchase incentives were described as “point of purchase,” which would be a change from the current tax credit, along with an incentive for used EVs. The Secretary said, “When the president sees stories about climate change, he thinks jobs. He wants to create supply chains here. He wants made in America, used in America, and exported elsewhere.”

A nifty short video was produced by her team about her stops in New Hampshire and Maine. https://youtu.be/tenGvHJZrKw

Looking in the Rearview Camera Back Over a Busy 2021

As the year winds to a close, we take this opportunity to give our sincere thanks to all who have joined us for our meetings, events, advocacy, and information efforts. We look forward to seeing you in 2022!

Legislation

2021 was a disappointing year for climate legislation with our top priorities of direct sales, TCI, and adoption of the California emission standards for medium and heavy-duty vehicles not making it through the legislature.

The EV Club worked with the other members of the CT EV Coalition on these efforts but the Club was the tip of the spear on direct sales. We wrote blog posts and op-eds such as here (Hartford Courant)and here (CT Mirror). We called, emailed and met with legislators and gave testimony in support of SB 127, a bill we call EV Freedom. Our social media team did an outstanding job promoting direct sales and debunking bad PR meant to sow confusion and doubt about direct sales. Club member Will Cross – also Communications Director for Tesla Owners Club of Connecticut – built a platform, evfreedomct.com, to educate and inform the public about the bill, allow readers to show support by signing a petition and using social media to reach legislators and share excellent EV footage debunking many of the myths being advanced about direct sales.

The EV Freedom Bill made it out of the Transportation Committee but did not get called for a vote in the Senate. We were told that we were 1 vote shy. The bill will be reintroduced by Senator Haskell in 2022.

We held a well-attended press conference, as seen in these photos, with state officials, environmental organizations, labor, and others speaking.

We had support from Tesla and Lucid and were graced by the presence of a Model Y and the Lucid Air. Also, Rivian brought a pre-production R1T to Hartford and gave rides to legislators, followed by a small reception for club-members in New Haven. This was the vehicle’s first appearance in the state.

We thank the bill sponsors, Senator Haskell and Representative Steinberg, our friends at the CT Tesla Owners Club, and all of our members and others who reached out to their representatives, wrote an op-ed, or gave testimony before the legislature.

The only way this bill will pass is if constituents keep the pressure on. 2022 is an election year and it is the time to make our voices heard. We will be asking everyone to reach out again. Each year starts anew. If you have contacted your representatives in the past, memory is fleeting; it is important to do so again. Our state’s ability to meet its EV and emission reduction goals depends on it, not to mention that it has overwhelming consumer support. We will be communicating more specifics about the policy agenda for 2022 as they become available.

The footprint of the club continues to expand. We have now become a go-to source for press when comments about EV-related news are sought, including a recent, not as yet published article from CNN.com. The EV Club has also been invited to sit on the policy committee of the (national) Electric Vehicle Association (formerly the Electric Auto Association) even though we are not a chapter. The EVA formally endorses direct sales and will be another resource for us.

Events

• The EV Club again partnered with Sustainable Fairfield to stage an EV Parade from Westport to Fairfield for National Drive Electric Week (NDEW). This year it was followed by an EV showcase at the parade terminus with speakers.
• We supported as best we could other NDEW events held around the state, such as a successful event at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain.
• We were pleased to again support the Electric Car Guest Drive folks at their ride and drive event in Montgomery, NY.

Speaking Engagements

• AIACT – All electric home and BEVs webinar for architects
• Sustainable Essex – Deep dive into EV charging
• Route 7 EV Corridor dedication

• Municipal Police EV Adoption Workshop
• West Hartford Environment Committee
• Sustainable Weston
• Sierra Club Hartford
• Save the Sound Legislative Panel
• Webinar (Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel!) – How to Save on an EV and Get Free Charging

(We will be updating our incentive content. There is a lot of news on the near-term horizon with the PURA/utility incentives about to be finalized, and the possibility of major changes to the federal purchase incentive in the Build Back Better bill.)

Data

• Two updates to the EV Dashboard with more charts added.
• Track of CHEAPR performance, which continues to under-perform (that means allocated funds are underspent)
• Financial Analysis of Westport Police Model 3 patrol car, along with modeling out the financial implications for fleet adoption.

Select Meeting Speakers

• Marissa Gillett, Chair of Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, spoke about the upcoming EV Rate Design.
• Congressman Himes – A look forward to climate legislation
• Citizens Climate Lobby – Dr. Roger Kuhns discussed a proposal for a carbon tax with dividend.
• Stephen Wagner of South Windsor Planning and Zoning discussed using zoning regulations to improve charging access
• Kim Pacquette, early Tesla FSD beta tester spoke early in the year, followed by a recent panel of local drivers who have the received the recent upgrade

Westport Fire Department

EV Club Members loaned their vehicles for training so first responders can learn how to handle the cables and where to cut if necessary. We have had another request, this one from the Bethel Fire Department. We are waiting on a firm date before asking for volunteers. All that is involved is leaving the vehicle for a few hours so they can look at the wiring.

Club members participated in a fund-raiser to help Louisiana residents after the hurricanes. It was a grassroots effort driven by Tesla owners and coordinated with local LA resident, Clean Technica journalist, Johnna Crider.

Finally, this post is being composed on giving Tuesday, though it most likely will not make it live until Wednesday (yep, that’s what happened). The EV Club does not take donations, but several of our esteemed partners on the EV Coalition would be happy for any largess, for example, Save the Sound, The Sierra Club, Acadia Center, League of Conservation Voters, Electric Vehicle Association. If you are considering further giving options this year, please consider them.

Please scroll to the bottom of the home page to fill out the form to join the club (free) and sign up for our email blasts inviting you to our virtual meetings and events.

Maintaining Safety for First Responders to an Accident Involving Electric Vehicles

This kind of cord-cutting risks a lot more than losing ESPN.

The Westport Fire Department is conducting staff training on dealing with EVs in an accident, for example, if there is severe damage, if occupants need to be cut out of the car, or if there is a potential for “thermal runaway” (battery igniting). First responders need to know how to safely handle the battery cables, and if necessary, where to cut.

EV Club owners and local dealers loaned their vehicles to the Westport Fire Department for training sessions being conducted this week and next. In this photo, there is a Chevy Volt, Toyota Prius Prime, and Honda Clarity, all of them plug-in hybrids. Other training sessions have battery electric vehicles, including a Jaguar iPace and Tesla Model 3.

The photo at the top of the post, from left to right, is of Brett Kirby, Assistant Chief of the Westport Fire Department, EV Club President Barry Kresch, and Jason Emery, an outside trainer brought in specifically for EV training.

These photos are of the trainer and fire department personnel observing the wiring of a Tesla Model 3.