EVGO FLEET AND TARIFF ANALYSIS PHASE 1: CALIFORNIA

This report by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) analyzes the electricity costs for EVgo's network of 230 direct current fast chargers (DCFC) in California. It identifies high utility demand charges as a primary barrier to the profitability of public DCFC operators and evaluates how proposed EV-specific tariffs from Southern California Edison (SCE) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) could reduce these costs.

• Utility demand charges represent a major financial obstacle for public DCFC operators, sometimes accounting for over 90% of electricity costs. In some summer months, costs have reached as high as $1.96/kWh at certain locations.
• Analysis of 2016 data from 230 California DCFC stations shows that charger utilization, average power, and energy consumption vary significantly by host type. For example, customers at retail locations typically have a higher state of charge and shorter connection durations, while those at dealerships arrive with lower charges and stay longer.
• The report proposes that for public DCFC to be sustainable, operators should be able to sell power to end-users for $0.09/mile or less. This is compared to a gasoline equivalent cost of $0.29/kWh.
• Proposed EV-specific tariffs from SDG&E and SCE are expected to provide more stable costs and enable public charging delivery for less than $0.09/mile across all four modeled growth scenarios. This improvement is primarily attributed to the reduction or elimination of demand charges.
• Under the proposed SCE ToU-EV-8 tariff, monthly demand charges would be suspended for an introductory five-year period. After a five-year intermediate phase-in, demand charges in year 11 would still be lower than current non-EV commercial rates.
• The SDG&E Public Charging GIR tariff is identified as a potentially attractive option for EVgo because it avoids fixed Grid Integration Charges. While 'dynamic adders' could cost up to $5,000 per year per charger in a worst-case scenario, these costs could be mitigated through stationary batteries, throttling, or passing costs to customers.
• RMI recommends that ideal DCFC tariffs should feature time-varying volumetric rates, low fixed charges, the ability to earn credits for grid services, locational marginal pricing, and limited or no demand charges.
• The report suggests a 'social objective approach' where tariffs are designed based on a target cost to the end-user (e.g., $0.09/mile) minus a reasonable profit margin for the operator, with the remaining utility costs socialized across the general customer base.

APA

Fitzgerald, G., & Nelder, C. (2017). EVGO FLEET AND TARIFF ANALYSIS PHASE 1: CALIFORNIA. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/04/eLab_EVgo_Fleet_and_Tariff_Analysis_2017.pdf

Chicago

Fitzgerald, Garrett, and Chris Nelder. EVGO FLEET AND TARIFF ANALYSIS PHASE 1: CALIFORNIA. RMI, 2017. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/04/eLab_EVgo_Fleet_and_Tariff_Analysis_2017.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Fitzgerald |first1=Garrett |last2=Nelder |first2=Chris |title=EVGO FLEET AND TARIFF ANALYSIS PHASE 1: CALIFORNIA |publisher=RMI |date=March 2017 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/04/eLab_EVgo_Fleet_and_Tariff_Analysis_2017.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fitzgerald2017evgo, author = {Fitzgerald, Garrett and Nelder, Chris}, title = {{EVGO FLEET AND TARIFF ANALYSIS PHASE 1: CALIFORNIA}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2017}, month = mar, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/04/eLab_EVgo_Fleet_and_Tariff_Analysis_2017.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }