Buying a vehicle changes how much electricity your home uses, and that change tends to come as a surprise to people. Maybe you already looked at the cost to install an electric vehicle charger at home, got a few quotes for home electric vehicle charger installation, and decided on a Level 2 charger for overnight charging in the garage. All of that is the easy part. The plan you are on to actually pay for that electricity is the part most new owners never look at twice. It’s worth a second look now that your usage is about to increase.
Here is what to consider before you stay with your plan or switch to something designed for how you actually charge.
TL;DR
- Buying an electric vehicle adds real electricity usage, so your current plan deserves a second look, not just your charger installation.
- Fixed rates offer price stability for a new, predictable nightly load. Variable rates can work but expose you to seasonal price swings.
- TOU rates often help electric vehicle owners who charge overnight, but they aren’t automatically better if your charging happens during peak hours.
- Supply and delivery are separate charges. Only the supply portion of your bill changes when you switch providers.
- A commuter charging 300 to 500 kilowatt-hours a month can expect a real, ongoing increase in supply costs, not just a small bump.
- Before switching plans, check contract length, cancellation fees, monthly fees, and how long any promotional rate actually lasts.
- Your ideal plan depends on your charging habits: overnight chargers often do well on TOU, while occasional drivers may not need to overthink the rate structure at all.
What Makes an Electricity Plan Good for Electric Vehicle Owners?
Not every plan handles a larger electric load the same way. A few things matter more once electric vehicle charging becomes part of your routine:
Supply rate: This is the price per kilowatt-hour you pay for the electricity itself, separate from what your utility charges to bring it to your home.
Rate structure: Fixed, variable, or time-of-use (TOU), each one handles a new load differently.
Contract terms: Length of the agreement, renewal rules, and what happens if you want to leave.
Fees: Monthly service fees, minimum usage charges, or anything added regardless of how much you use.
Charging schedule flexibility : Whether the plan charges more for charging at certain times of the day.
A plan that looked good for a household without a vehicle can become expensive once a car adds several hundred extra kilowatt-hours a month. That’s the part worth checking before your next bill, not after.
Fixed vs Variable Electricity Rates for Electric Vehicle Owners.
This is probably the biggest decision an electric vehicle owner will make about their electricity plans, so it deserves more than a passing mention.
A fixed rate locks your price per kilowatt-hour for the length of your contract. Your bill still changes with usage, since charging a car adds kilowatt-hours to your total, but the rate itself won’t rise because of a cold snap or a spike in wholesale prices. For a household that just added a new load like nightly electric vehicle charging, that stability is often worth more than chasing a slightly lower rate somewhere else. It’s the same price protection behind City Power and Gas’s fixed plans.
A variable rate changes with the market. Some months that works in your favor, in mild weather when demand is low. Other months, particularly in winter or during summer heat waves, a variable rate can climb well past what a fixed plan would have cost you. Since an electric vehicle owner is charging every night regardless of the season, that change hits harder than it would for lower usage households.
There is no one-size-fits-all answer. A driver with a smaller battery and lighter charging needs might be fine with variable pricing. A household running a daily commute and topping off every night is usually better served locking in a fixed rate before winter or summer usage spikes hit.
Are Time-of-Use Rates Always Better for Electric Vehicle Charging?
TOU plans get recommended constantly for electric vehicle owners, and there is a reason for that: they charge less per kilowatt-hour during off-peak hours and more during peak hours, and most electric vehicle charging naturally happens overnight when demand is already low. If your charging habits match the off-peak window, a TOU rate can genuinely lower your cost per kilowatt-hour compared to a flat rate plan.
“Always better” oversells it, though. If your schedule forces you to charge during peak hours, say a rideshare driver topping off between shifts, a TOU plan can end up costing more than a flat rate would have. We’ve gone deeper into how TOU rates and electric vehicle charging work together in a separate guide, since the mechanics behind peak and off-peak pricing deserve their own space rather than a repeat here.
Don’t Forget the Difference Between Supply and Delivery Charges.
Every electric bill in New York and Pennsylvania has two parts, and mixing them up is one of the most common reasons people misjudge what a new plan will actually save them.
Delivery is what your utility, National Grid or Con Edison depending on your service area, charges to move electricity to your home through the wires and infrastructure. That part stays the same no matter who supplies your electricity. Supply is the electricity you’re using, and that’s the part you can shop around for.
When you compare a plan, whether that’s with City Power and Gas or another supplier, you’re only shopping the supply side. Your delivery charge doesn’t change, and neither does your utility’s responsibility for outages or service calls. Anyone comparing electricity cost per kilowatt-hour across providers should be comparing supply rates specifically, not the total bill, since delivery charges are the same no matter which supplier you pick.
How Much Could Your Electric Vehicle Add to Your Electricity Bill?
Numbers make this easier to picture. Say you’re charging a mid-size electric vehicle a few nights a week and it adds roughly 300 kilowatt-hours to your monthly usage, close to what a typical daily commuter might use. At a supply rate of $0.12 per kilowatt-hour, that’s an extra $36 a month in supply costs alone. A larger battery or a longer commute pushing you closer to 500 kilowatt-hours a month at that same rate adds about $60.
These numbers shift with your actual rate, and electricity cost per kilowatt-hour varies quite a bit by utility territory and season. You can see current home charging incentives for New York drivers if you haven’t checked lately. The point isn’t the exact dollar figure, it’s that 300 to 500 extra kilowatt-hours a month is a real, ongoing addition to your bill, not a rounding error. Running that math against your current supply rate, and against what a different plan or provider would charge for the same usage, is the only way to know if switching actually saves you anything.
What to Check Before Switching Electricity Plans?
An advertised rate isn’t the whole picture. Before you switch, look at:
Contract length :- Some plans lock you in for 12 or 24 months, others run month to month.
Cancellation fees. An early termination fee can wipe out any savings if your plans change.
Monthly fees :- A low per-kilowatt-hour rate paired with a high flat monthly fee can cost more than a simple flat rate plan.
Promotional pricing :- Introductory rates that jump significantly after a few months are common enough to watch for specifically.
Renewal terms :- What happens automatically when your contract ends matters just as much as the rate you start with.
This applies whether you’re comparing plans from City Power and Gas or looking at other providers, including larger national suppliers. Reading the actual contract terms, not just the marketing rate, is what separates a good switch from a disappointing one. If cutting your bill in general is the goal alongside the EV switch, our everyday habits that lower your electric bill is worth a look too.
Which Type of Plan Fits Your Electric Vehicle Charging Habits?
Charging patterns vary a lot from one household to the next, and the right plan usually follows the pattern rather than a generic recommendation.
Overnight charger :– If you plug in every night and charging is done before morning, a TOU plan built around off-peak hours is usually the strongest fit, since your usage lines up with the cheapest window almost automatically.
Daily commuter :– Consistent daily mileage and predictable overnight charging make a fixed rate plan a safe, low-maintenance option, especially if you’d rather not track peak hours closely.
Occasional driver :- Lighter, less frequent charging means the rate structure matters less. A straightforward fixed or standard plan without a long contract commitment often makes more sense than optimizing around TOU windows for a small amount of usage.
High-energy household :- A home already running significant electricity use before the electric vehicle, think central air, electric heat, or a home office, benefits from running the full math on fixed versus variable rather than guessing, since the EV load is compounding on top of an already sizable bill.
How to Compare Two Electricity Plans?
When you’re weighing two offers side by side, the comparison only means something if you’re comparing the same usage against both.
| Information | Plan A (Fixed) | Plan B (TOU) |
| Supply rate | $0.13/kWh flat | $0.09/kWh off-peak, $0.19/kWh peak |
| Monthly usage (with EV) | 900 kWh | 900 kWh (700 off-peak, 200 peak) |
| Estimated supply cost | $117.00 | $63.00 + $38.00 = $101.00 |
| Contract length | 12 months | Month to month |
| Cancellation fee | Yes | No |
In this example, Plan B comes out cheaper, but only because most of the usage falls in the off-peak window. Shift more of that charging into peak hours and the math flips quickly. Run this same comparison with your actual usage and your actual rates before assuming a TOU plan or a fixed plan is the better deal. What works for one household’s charging schedule can cost another household more. If your charger isn’t ENERGY STAR certified, it’s worth checking, since some rate and rebate programs key off that detail too.
Ready to see what a fixed or flexible plan looks like with your actual usage? Compare City Power and Gas plans and check your rate before your next bill reflects a full month of electric vehicle charging.
FAQs
How much does it cost to install an EV charger at home?
Cost to install an EV charger at home varies based on your panel capacity, how far the charger sits from your electrical panel, and local electrician rates. A straightforward Level 2 install usually costs less than one that requires a panel upgrade. Get a couple of quotes before committing, since home EV charger installation pricing can swing quite a bit between contractors.
What is Level 2 charging, and do I need it?
Level 2 charging uses a 240-volt connection instead of a standard household outlet, which charges an EV several times faster overnight. If you’re driving a normal daily commute, a Level 2 home EV charging station is usually worth the upfront cost since it fits a full charge into a normal overnight window.
How much does it cost to charge an electric car at home each month?
It depends on your supply rate and how much you drive. As a rough guide, adding 300 to 500 kWh of monthly charging at $0.12 per kWh runs somewhere between $36 and $60 in supply costs alone, on top of whatever delivery charges your utility already bills you.
Is a TOU rate always the cheapest option for EV charging?
Not always. A time-of-use plan tends to save money for drivers who charge mostly during off-peak hours, since the per kWh rate drops well below peak pricing. If your schedule pushes charging into peak hours, a flat or fixed rate can end up cheaper.
What’s a good cost per kWh for an EV owner to look for?
There isn’t one universal number, since electricity cost per kWh varies by utility territory, season, and whether you’re on a fixed, variable, or TOU plan. What matters more is comparing the actual supply rate on offer against your current one, using your real monthly usage rather than a national average.
Will switching electricity suppliers affect my utility service?
No. Your utility, whether that’s National Grid, Con Edison, or another provider in your area, still delivers your electricity and handles outages no matter who supplies it. Switching suppliers only changes the supply portion of your bill, not the delivery side.
Can I switch plans if I already signed up with a promotional rate?
It depends on your contract. Check for an early termination fee and confirm when the promotional pricing ends, since some plans jump to a much higher rate after the introductory period. Reviewing those terms before your promo period ends can save you from an unexpected increase.
Do off-peak hours matter if I don’t have a Level 2 charger yet?
Less so. Off-peak electricity hours mainly benefit drivers charging enough kWh for the time-of-day difference to add up, which usually means faster, higher-volume charging. If you’re still charging occasionally on a standard outlet, the savings from timing your charging around peak hours are much smaller.
