Seattle City Light
Seattle City Light is the municipal electric utility serving roughly 512,000 customers in Seattle and parts of King County, Washington. Its rates are set by the Seattle City Council, not the Washington UTC. The utility offers an opt-in residential time-of-use rate that applies to all usage including EV charging (no separate EV rate); its home Level 2 charger discount is no longer offered, but business and multifamily charging incentives remain active; it does not run a managed-charging program, but it operates a public curbside Level 2 charging network.
At a glance
Municipal- Serves
- Washington
- Customers
- 512,495
- EV rate plan
- –
- EVSE rebate
- –
- Managed-charging program
- –
EV time-of-use rate plans
Residential Time of Use Rate
Verified Sep 2026
- Peak
- 5pm-9pm Monday through Saturday (excluding observed holidays)
- 16.1¢/kWh
- Off-peak
- Midnight-6am every day; mid-peak 6am-5pm and 9pm-midnight Mon-Sat, and all day on Sundays and holidays
- 8.1¢/kWh
Opt-in for residential customers with an advanced (AMI) meter. Applies to all household usage including EV charging; City Light has no separate EV-only rate. Peak prices run about twice off-peak. Rates shown are for the Seattle city proper rate tier; Burien, SeaTac, Shoreline, unincorporated King County, Lake Forest Park, Normandy Park, Tukwila, and Renton have their own slightly different per-kWh prices under the same rate structure. Net metering (solar) customers are not currently eligible for this rate.
Residential EVSE rebates
Residential Midstream EV Charger Program
No longer offered (confirmed as of 2026-09-01)
Previously an instant point-of-sale discount of up to $400 (not to exceed 80% of retail cost) on a qualifying Level 2 charger bought from a participating distributor branch, installed at a single-family property (1-4 dwellings) within City Light's service area. The program's incentive period ran through Feb. 28, 2025. As of September 2026 it is absent from City Light's current "City Light Incentives" list on its residential Electric Vehicles page, which now names only the Public Charging Incentive, Multifamily EV Charging, and Business EV Charging programs. Confirm directly with City Light before planning around a residential charger discount.
Apply / learn more →Commercial & multifamily rebates
Business EV Charging Program (Public Charging Incentive)
Charger incentive: Level 2 (6.6 kW minimum) 50% up to $2,500 per project, or 100% up to $5,000 in overburdened communities; DC fast chargers (100 kW minimum) 50% up to $20,000, or 100% up to $40,000 overburdened; DC fast chargers (150 kW minimum) 50% up to $50,000, or 100% up to $80,000 overburdened; DC fast with battery storage (150 kW minimum) 50% up to $125,000, or 100% up to $150,000 overburdened. A separate make-ready incentive covers electrical infrastructure on the same tiered basis, up to $200,000 per project for the largest tier.
Sites must be within City Light's service area, have a minimum of 4 charging ports per site, remain publicly accessible at least 7 days a week for 12 or more hours daily, and each charger must meet minimum power output requirements. The 100% incentive tier applies to overburdened communities, defined as areas ranking 9.0 or higher on the Washington State Environmental Health Disparities map; other areas receive the 50% tier. Applicants may qualify for both the charger and make-ready incentives. This entry covers the Public Charging Incentive Program specifically; City Light's separate Business EV Charging program (fleet electrification and workplace charging for non-publicly-accessible chargers) sets incentive amounts case by case.
Apply / learn more →Multifamily EV Charging Program
Market-rate properties: 120V outlets 75% up to $13,000 per site, 240V outlets 100% up to $15,000 per site, Level 2 hardwired 50% up to $25,000 per site. Affordable-housing properties: 120V and 240V outlets 100% up to $15,000 per site, Level 2 hardwired 100% up to $50,000 per site.
Properties with at least five units on one site, City Light account required, chargers installed on private property only, minimum of two ports per project, and "EV Only" signage required for shared parking. Effective Nov. 12, 2025, City Light reactivated the program for market-rate multifamily properties in addition to affordable-housing properties; affordable properties qualify for higher incentive caps in most categories.
Apply / learn more →Seattle City Light does not offer a separate EV time-of-use rate. Instead it has an opt-in residential time-of-use rate, launched in May 2026, that applies to all household usage including car charging. Peak hours run 5pm to 9pm Monday through Saturday, mid-peak covers 6am to 5pm and 9pm to midnight on those days, and off-peak is midnight to 6am every day. Peak prices run about twice off-peak, so charging overnight is the cheapest option. The rate requires an advanced meter and is best for drivers who can shift charging to the early morning hours.
City Light's home Level 2 charger discount program is no longer offered as of September 2026. Business and multifamily incentives remain separate, active programs with their own caps: the Public Charging Incentive and Business EV Charging programs support public, fleet, and workplace charger installations, and the Multifamily EV Charging Program covers both market-rate and affordable-housing properties, with higher caps for affordable properties, after City Light reactivated it for market-rate buildings in November 2025. There is no residential managed-charging program at this time.
City Light is a publicly owned utility whose rates are set by the Seattle City Council rather than the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, which regulates investor-owned utilities like Puget Sound Energy. Because much of Seattle is dense urban housing without off-street parking, the utility runs a public curbside Level 2 charging network, with chargers in residential neighborhoods that cost $0.21 per kilowatt-hour and are open to any driver on a first-come basis.
Service territory
Washington
- King
Cost to charge
Other utilities in Washington
State guides
Sources
- Seattle City Light, Electric Vehicles (residential program list; home charger discount no longer listed)Retrieved Sep 2026
- Seattle City Light, Residential Time of Use RateRetrieved Sep 2026
- Seattle City Light, Public Charging Incentive Program (business)Retrieved Sep 2026
- Seattle City Light, Multifamily EV Charging ProgramRetrieved Sep 2026
- Seattle City Light, Curbside Level 2 EV ChargingRetrieved Sep 2026
- PNW Utility Rebates, Seattle City Light EV Charger Program (secondary, confirms Residential Midstream program stop date of Feb. 28, 2025)Retrieved Sep 2026
Federal and state-level program details are tracked at DSIRE.
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