Replacing your gas guzzler with an Electric Vehicle (EV) will save you money and help fight climate change.
About 55% of San José’s greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation. SJCE is committed to getting more San Joseans in EVs to help reduce air pollution and preserve our planet for future generations.
For an easy way to see which incentives you qualify for and whether the incentives can be stacked, check out the Shop & Compare tool below.
Clean Vehicle Rebate Project
Post-purchase rebate
Available for Used EVs? ✘
Available for Leases? ✔
Pro tip: Rebate provided after purchase. Rebate can be up to $7,500 for low-income households.
Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
Tax credit
Available for Used EVs? ✔
Available for Leases? ✔
Pro tip: Vehicles must be assembled in North America. Starting 2023, buyer’s adjusted gross income must be less than $150,000 for single filers or $300,000 for joint filers and the EV must cost less than $55,000 for a car and $80,000 for an SUV, van, or truck. Chevy and Tesla models may be eligible for the credit in 2023.
PG&E Pre-Owned Electric Vehicle Rebate Program
Post-purchase rebate
Available for Used EVs? ✔
Available for Leases? ✔
When purchasing or leasing a pre-owned EV, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) customers may be eligible for up to $4,000 in rebates.
Programs below cannot be stacked together but can be stacked with the federal tax credit and state’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Project. They all have the same income requirements:
| Household size* | Maximum annual income** |
| 1 | $54,360 |
| 2 | $73,240 |
| 3 | $92,120 |
| 4 | $111,000 |
| 5 | $129,880 |
| 6 | $148,760 |
| 7 | $167,640 |
| 8 | $186,520 |
*Count only yourself plus any spouse, registered domestic partner, guardians and/or dependents you have.
**Income calculation based on 400% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) (2022). Income criteria is updated to the next calendar year FPL on April 15th annually.
Clean Cars for All
Point of sale incentive
Available for Used EVs? ✔
Available for Leases? ✔
Pro tip: CC4A is only open to income-qualified Bay Area residents that live in zip codes impacted by higher air pollution. See their Eligibility page for a list of qualifying zip codes.
Clean Vehicle Assistance Program
Point of sale incentive
Available for Used EVs? ✔
Available for Leases? ✔
Pro tip: Not accepting new applications. Expected to re-open in 2023. Also offers grants up to $2,000 for at-home charging.
Drive Clean Assistance Program
Point of sale incentive
Available for Used EVs? ✔
Available for Leases? ✔
Pro tip: Not accepting new applications. Also offers grants for at-home charging and portable EV chargers.
CVAP Beneficial State Foundation
Available for Used EVs? ✔
Max Loan Amount: None
Pro tip: Must contribute at least $1,000 to vehicle purchase through down payment or loan payment.
Driving Clean Assistance Program
Available for Used EVs? ✔
Max Loan Amount: $20,000
Pro tip: Program counsels customers from initial application through purchase of the car.
EV drivers can get special electricity rates that incentivize charging during off-peak hours, like at night when you are sleeping, until 3:00 p.m.
SJCE offers the same EV rate options as PG&E, but with more renewable energy. So with SJCE, you’ll drive on cleaner electricity and support local clean energy programs.
Customers enroll for an EV rate through PG&E, and PG&E transmits that information to SJCE.
EV rate plans are time-of-use rate plans, meaning the price of electricity depends on the time of day. Residential customers have two options for EV rate plans: EV-2A and EV-B. The main difference is that customers eligible for EV-B use a separate meter for EV charging. These customers are responsible for installing their second meter. Most EV customers are on the EV-2A rate plan, meaning their EV charging and household usage is tracked by the same meter.
The peak, off-peak, and partial-peak hours are the same for EV-2A and EV-B.
Ready to compare vehicles and find your incentives and cost savings? Our friends at Silicon Valley Clean Energy have developed an EV Assistant tool – check it out!
With the tool, you’ll be able to identify cost savings for fuel, maintenance, and lifetime ownership. You’ll also be able to find personal incentives based off your information and find out which incentives are stackable.
San José leads the nation in public charging stations per capita. Find your nearest charging station at PlugShare.
SJCE partnered with the California Energy Commission to invest $14 million in new EV chargers for San Jose businesses, apartments and condos, and public places. This investment will result in approximately 1,400 Level 2 charging ports and 100 DC Fast Charging ports being installed through 2024, doubling the current level of charging infrastructure. SJCE surpassed its goal of having at least 25% of the chargers installed in low-income and disadvantaged communities; nearly 40% of funds have been reserved or issued to these communities. The program is currently fully subscribed.
This program is now closed
The Charge! 2023 program, run by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, provides grant funding to offset a portion of the cost to purchase and install new publicly accessible (multi-family housing located projects are not subject to public accessibility requirements) chargers for light-duty electric vehicles, or EVs, at workplaces, destinations, transit parking locations, along transportation corridors, and at multi-family housing facilities. The goal of the Charge! Program is to rapidly expand access to EV charging stations to help achieve the Bay Area’s EV-adoption goals of 90 percent of the overall vehicle fleet by 2050.
The Air District’s FYE 2023 Charge! Program is scheduled to open on November 15, 2022, and a total of $5 million in grant funding will be available. Funding is available for level 1 chargers to DC fast chargers with funding ranging from $1,500-$35,000 per port depending on what kind. Visit their website to learn more about the program and how to apply.
Receive a rebate of $2,000 when you purchase a BEV through the Clean Cars for All program.
If you purchase a battery or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle through the Clean Vehicle Assistance Program grant, you are eligible to receive a free Level 2 charging station installed in your home or a $1,000 pre-paid charge card valid at public EVGO charging stations plus a lower-speed portable charger.
If you installed, or plan to install, an EV home charger, you can take 30% off the cost of purchasing and installing the charger (up to $1,000) by claiming a federal tax credit.
Starting in fall 2022, PG&E’s Empower EV program will offer income-eligible households up to $2,500 in financial incentives. The program extends to qualifying customers in single-family households who have recently purchased or leased an EV within six months prior to applying to the program. Customer income eligibility:
Charge Time: 3-5 miles per hour
Installation: none required; use a standard, properly grounded 3-prong outlet
Voltage: 120V 1-Phase AC
Charging Loads: 1.4 to 1.9 kW
Charge Time: 10-40 miles per hour
Installation: hire an electrician to install; same type of plug that your dryer uses
Voltage: 208V or 240V 1-Phase AC
Charging Loads: 2.5 to 19.2 kW (typically 7 kW)
Charge Time: 80% charge in 20-30 minutes
Installation: found in public places; not installed in homes
Voltage: 208V or 480V 3-phase AC
Charging Loads: <350 kW
A permit from the City of San José is needed to install a Level 2 charging station in a single-family home. Note: only Level 2 chargers require a permit. Learn more about permitting.
Save money by electrifying your fleet! Find a list of a wide range of current light to heavy-duty vehicles models available, vehicle incentives, rebates to install charging infrastructure, and tools to measure potential cost savings.
