Get paid to charge your EV – honest!!

Making an already cheap drive even cheaper

This may sound like a scam, but it’s real: you can get paid to charge your electric vehicle.

EVs are already cheaper to own and operate than gas vehicles – and now the savings can be even greater, because you can get a rebate of three to 16 cents for every kilowatt-hour (KWH) you use to charge your EV.  That won’t take your electricity cost down to zero, but it sure takes a nice bite out of it, making a good thing even better.

How is this possible?  You can thank Canada’s Clean Fuel Regulations.  They enable the generation of carbon credits through activities like EV charging (because every kilometer driven by an EV is a kilometer less driven by a gas vehicle) – credits that can then be sold for profit on carbon trading markets.  Numerous companies (let’s refer to them as ‘credit resellers’) have sprung up to buy those carbon credits from individual EV owners, add them all up together and then sell them in large blocks in carbon trading markets.

For example, let’s say you use 300 KWH each month to charge your EV (let’s refer to that as your ‘charging block’).  A credit reseller will pay you an amount per KWH for the exclusive right to add your 300 KWH charging block to their larger block of carbon credits that they then sell on the carbon trading market at a profit.  The ‘exclusive’ part is for integrity reasons; you can’t double-dip and be paid more than once for your charging block.  So you can only sign up with one credit reseller.

Different credit resellers offer different benefits, so it’s important to compare and then choose the one that’s best for you:

• Some are manufacturers or suppliers of EV chargers, so getting a charger from them is part of the arrangement; others allow you to use your existing charger
• Some offer a free charger but then pay you a lower rate per KWH for a defined period to make up for it; most will pay you a higher rate from day one if you own your own charger or buy one from them
• Some offer tiered rebate rates that go up over time, based on how much you charge your EV
• Some pay out in cash; others pay out in other benefits like credits or gift cards

Sorry if it sounds a little confusing – but it’s real: you can get paid to charge your EV.  It’s worth the effort to do a little research, and then sign up for program best suited to your situation.

Here’s a website I’ve used to choose the credit reseller I’m signing up for this week (no endorsement intended); it also has a search tool for programs available by province, and a calculator that enables you to enter your information and see which programs best fit your situation.

EVs already offer so many benefits: quiet, powerful, cheap to operate, zero emissions and more.  Getting paid to charge them makes them even more appealing!

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