In Southside Electric territory, charging your EV at the wrong moment can add about $40 a month to the same bill. On Dominion's optional Off-Peak Plan, the same kilowatt-hour runs about 31¢ on a summer afternoon and 13.3¢ overnight. Different utilities, same lesson: timing is the whole game. We dug into every Virginia utility's own rate documents — not the summaries floating around online, which turn out to be outdated or just wrong surprisingly often. If you spot something that's changed, tell us and we'll fix it.
Dominion's own program rules make these mutually exclusive — a fact that surprises most EV owners. When we install, we run your numbers and tell you which side wins. Sometimes it's neither, and we'll say that too.
Versus 16–18¢ on the standard rate. To be clear about where the savings really live: the daytime off-peak tier (15.1¢) is roughly a wash — the discount is the overnight window, which is exactly when an EV should charge anyway. The trade: summer weekday afternoons (3–6pm) cost about 31¢, double the standard rate. Fits households that are out during the day.
Availability caveat: you need a smart meter, and you can't request one — Dominion upgrades areas on its own regional schedule. The definitive check takes a minute in your own Dominion account (Usage → View and Compare My Rate); if you have trouble getting an answer, we're glad to help.
Keep the standard rate, get a rebate on an eligible Level 2 charger — ChargePoint, Emporia, and Wallbox models qualify, and we install all three — plus $40 a year for letting Dominion briefly manage charging during grid-stress events. You can opt out of any event. One catch as of October 2026: Dominion's rebate portal shows enrollment closed with an interest list for the next opening, so don't count the $125 until you're in. Tesla drivers: a separate telematics pilot lists a $40/yr card on Dominion's program matrix.
Member-owned co-ops serve much of rural and suburban Virginia — and their programs vary wildly. One thing they share: the off-peak number in the brochure is usually the supply charge only. Delivery charges and a power-cost adjustment ride on every kilowatt-hour, so below we show the all-in price you'd actually pay, with the pieces, verified October 2026 from each co-op's own tariff.
SEC bills two things. First, the electricity you use, like everyone else. Second, a charge for the single busiest 15 minutes of your whole month — $3.38 for every kilowatt your house was pulling in that window (2026 rate). That second charge is where an EV charger can quietly cost you.
A Level 2 charger draws 7–11 kW on its own. Plug in at 5pm while the AC, oven, and dryer are running, and your busiest 15 minutes jumps by roughly 12 kW: 12 × $3.38 is about $40 added to that month's bill, every month it happens. Charge when the house is quiet, with the charger turned down so it stays under your normal daytime peak, and your busiest 15 minutes doesn't change — the charger adds about nothing. Same charger, same car, same miles.
One honest detail: SEC's peak isn't tied to the clock. If your charger alone draws more than your house ever does during the day, it can set the peak even at 2am. That's why we set both the schedule and the charging level at install — so the cheap version is the one you get.
On every SEC-territory install, we'll show you the charging schedule that avoids the spike — and set it up for you if you'd like. SEC's optional time-of-use rate (A-TOU) prices overnight supply at 4.1¢/kWh — about 11.3¢/kWh all-in once the 4.2¢ delivery charge and the current 2.9¢ power-cost adjustment are added. On A-TOU the demand charge drops to $0.45/kW on a 60-minute basis, which is the real prize. This is also where a home battery earns its keep differently: capping that 15-minute spike, not just buying cheap power at night.
One correction, since it circulates online: SEC does not offer a "3¢ EV discount." That figure isn't in their actual rate plan — the real off-peak supply rate is 4.1¢ on the general time-of-use plan, about 11.3¢ all-in.
Optional time-of-use rate, updated May 2026: 4.3¢ off-peak supply plus a 5.5¢ delivery charge, and a power-cost adjustment CBEC doesn't publish online. Peak is 2–8pm in summer, 6–9am and 4–8pm the rest of the year. Correction: we previously listed an older 3.2¢ schedule as the cheapest in the state — that was the supply charge alone.
That's REC's 3.8¢ off-peak supply charge plus delivery (4.5¢ above 300 kWh) and the current 3.4¢ power-cost adjustment — the number you'll actually see on the bill. Off-peak is everything outside 3–7pm weekdays in summer and 6–9am / 5–8pm weekdays the rest of the year. REC's EV bill-credit pilot ended May 2026; a successor is in development — we can help you join the waitlist.
Dedicated whole-house EV rate: 5.6¢ off-peak supply plus 1.7¢ distribution and a 1.3¢ power-cost adjustment. It can be combined with solar net metering (not with community solar at the same time) — we had that backwards before, and we've fixed it. And no, the "$300 charger rebate" you may have read about doesn't exist. We checked.
NNEC's acceleRate rider (rebooked October 2026) takes about 5.4¢ off the supply charge on 11pm–6am charging — measured on a separate EV submeter you pay to have installed. Twelve-month minimum. A standalone whole-house TOU (T-10, about 7.5¢ off-peak plus the power-cost adjustment) also exists; net-metering members can't use T-10.
General residential time-of-use rate: 5.1¢ off-peak supply plus 2.5¢ delivery, and a power-cost adjustment PGEC doesn't publish online. Limited to the first 300 members; net-metering members aren't eligible. Still some of the best overnight economics in the state.
A real whole-house EV rate (TOU-A-EVS): about 5.7¢/kWh all-in from 10pm–5am. Capped at 20 members co-op-wide, five of whom may be net-metering. We'll check availability before you count on it.
A voluntary time-of-day rate — 2.2¢ supply + 3.1¢ delivery + 4.8¢ in adjustments as of May 2026 — versus about 13.4¢ on the standard rate. No EV-specific rate, and net metering isn't allowed on it.
No EV rate or charger rebate today. All offer solar net metering. Here, batteries earn their keep the honest way: backup power and bill management.
TVA territory works differently: no true net metering — exported solar earns roughly wholesale, not retail. Solar+battery math is tougher here, and we'd rather tell you upfront.
Roanoke and Southwest Virginia, this is you.
Schedule P.E.V. — a dedicated EV rate with a separate meter APCo installs at no cost. Off-peak (8pm–6am weekdays, all weekend) runs about 13¢ versus ~16.2¢ standard, per APCo's own published figures. The meter is free; hiring an electrician to set the meter base is on you. Not compatible with solar net metering.
Smart Time-of-Use — whole-home rate with a 5.1¢ off-peak energy charge. Riders and the fuel factor are added on top of that, so expect low-teens per kWh all-in; we'll run the exact number for your bill.
$100 rebate on ENERGY STAR Level 2 chargers (TakeCharge program) — APCo publishes no end date, so confirm it's live before you count on it.
No EV rate and no battery program — but there is a residential time-of-day option (RTOD, effective 2025): about 10.9¢/kWh off-peak all-in versus 14.7¢ standard, with weekends entirely off-peak. It's capped at 100 customers and has a 12-month lock-out if you leave, so ask early. Net metering is offered. With another large ODP rate increase pending at the SCC, the rest of the play here is efficiency and load management, and we'll show you that math instead of pretending there's a rebate.
Danville, Harrisonburg, Manassas, Salem, Martinsville, Radford, Bedford, Franklin, Culpeper, Front Royal, Richlands, Elkton, Wakefield, Virginia Tech Electric.
We'd rather lose a sale than earn one on a rebate that never arrives.
Repeated on installer websites across Northern Virginia. It doesn't exist — the claim appears to confuse NOVEC with Dominion's program.
Not in SEC's actual rate plan. The real number is a 4.1¢ off-peak supply charge on their general time-of-use plan — about 11.3¢ all-in. Good, but not what the internet says.
That's a $25 sign-up bonus in a Kentucky LG&E/KU program from ODP's parent company; there's no "$5 a month" anywhere. It is not offered under ODP's Virginia tariff.
We promise this page is checked against each utility's own documents every month. When that process misses something, you'll read it here — dated, in plain language — because a page you can trust has to own its mistakes.
Send us a photo of your electric bill. We'll tell you what your utility offers, what it doesn't, and what the numbers look like for your home — before you spend anything.