Connexus Energy

Connexus's two EV rate options are the main tool for EV owners who want to cut charging costs, and both let you charge at off-peak prices. The EV Time-of-Day rate prices a portion of home use by period: peak runs 4pm to 8pm on weekdays, an intermediate block covers 8am to 4pm weekdays and 8am to 8pm on weekends and holidays, and everything else is off-peak. Connexus describes the average off-peak EV rate as about 7 cents per kWh, roughly half its standard residential rate, with taxes and a Power Cost Adjustment added. The separately metered EV Subscription rate instead treats 9pm to 9am as off-peak year round.

Both EV rates pair with the residential charger rebate, which covers up to 50 percent of project cost or $500, whichever is less, for a qualifying Level 2 charger on an off-peak meter socket. Enrollment in an EV rate is required to claim it, and the rebate is limited to battery electric vehicles; plug-in hybrids do not qualify, and the whole-house Time-of-Day program is excluded. Businesses installing Level 2 charging for workplace or public use can apply for a separate rebate of up to $1,000.

Because Connexus is a member-owned cooperative rather than an investor-owned utility, its board sets rates directly and the Minnesota PUC does not regulate them, so program terms can change by board action rather than a rate case. Its wholesale power comes from Great River Energy. Service is concentrated in the suburban and exurban counties north of Minneapolis and St. Paul.