Colorado Springs Utilities

Colorado Springs Utilities does not offer a separate EV rate. Instead, EV owners charge on the Energy Wise time-of-day rate, which is now the default for most residential smart-meter customers. On-peak runs weekdays from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.; everything else, including all weekend and holiday hours, is off-peak. Off-peak energy costs about 7 cents per kWh year-round, while on-peak rises to about 29 cents per kWh in summer (June through September) and about 15 cents in winter. Charging overnight on this rate is well suited to EV owners.

CSU's commercial charger rebate program is no longer offered. It previously covered Level 2 ports for workplaces, fleets, and multi-unit dwellings, plus DC fast charger ports, on a first-come, first-served basis. There is no confirmed residential charger rebate either. For home charging, CSU instead points customers to its free managed-charging program, delivered with Optiwatt, which shifts charging into off-peak hours so it lines up with the Energy Wise rate.

CSU is a municipal, four-service utility owned by the City of Colorado Springs and governed by City Council acting as the Utilities Board, not by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. That distinguishes it from Xcel's Public Service Company of Colorado and from Core Electric Cooperative, which serve other parts of the state. Because the city sets these rates directly, the Energy Wise structure and any charger rebate program can change through the city budget process rather than a PUC docket.