EV Chargers for Multi-Family Properties and Organizations

The City of Palo Alto Utilities (CPAU) is offering Electric Vehicle (EV) Charger rebates for schools, non-profits, and multifamily properties. Qualifying organizations in the CPAU service area can receive up to $80,000 for installing shared use EV chargers. If you know a school, non-profit or multifamily property in Palo Alto that would benefit from our EV Charger Rebate or Technical Assistance Program, send us an email utilityprograms@cityofpaloalto.org or call us (650) 729-2064.

• Eligibility Requirements (PDF, 386KB)
• Terms and Conditions
• Start Application Now 

Questions? 

Check our EV and EV Charger FAQs web page for more information or contact the following City offices: 
For general EV program related questions, contact Utilities Program Services at (650) 329-2241. 
For permit related questions, contact Development Services at (650) 329-2496. 
For utility service upgrade questions, contact Utilities Electrical Engineering at (650) 566-4500. 

Installing Electric Vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure may require upgrading electric service to your property. The City of Palo Alto Utilities (CPAU) offers incentives in the form of rebates to help cover costs incurred for infrastructure upgrades related to EV charger installations.

CPAU welcomes you to the Electric Service Connection Fee Incentive Program for EV Chargers. You may apply for this incentive if you have met all Eligibility Requirements as set forth by the Program. CPAU will review and approve your application on a first-come, first-served basis. Final determination for incentive eligibility will be governed by the Terms and Conditions of the Program. Note that incentive funding is subject to availability and may change without prior notice.

If you have applied for an EV charger permit, you may receive notification that your project will trigger electric service fees that are over and above standard electric service connection fees, due to the need to upgrade the City’s electric service or transformer serving your property. In this scenario, CPAU Engineering will notify you and  request you pay an Advance Engineering Fee ($1,000 - $2,500 dependent on project specs). This non-refundable fee will start the review process for projects that require engineering job estimates. Once the design is completed, CPAU Engineering will issue an invoice for the transformer installation. This invoice must be paid by the customer prior to the start of any construction. Any additional costs incurred from an outside contractor that are necessary to install the transformer will also qualify for the incentive. 

To help offset these costs, customers can apply for an Electric Service Connection Fee Incentive from CPAU of up to $10,000 for single family homes, and $10,000 per port up to $100,000 (maximum of 10 EV charger ports) for schools, nonprofit organizations, public entities,  apartments, condominiums and mixed-use properties. Any amount over the maximum incentive is the customer’s responsibility. An eligible port can be for a make ready (Jbox), as well as an L1 or L2 dedicated outlet or charging station.

For new construction or major remodel projects, eligible non-single family projects adding EV charging ports/outlets above Palo Alto Building Code requirements may qualify for the Electric Service Connection Fee Incentive. This incentive is only available to multi-family properties, schools, non-profits and public entities. It is not available to new construction single family homes. Please see City of Palo Alto’s Building Code for new construction (Palo Alto Municipal Code Section 16.14.420 and 16.14.430.)

Please fill out and submit this Program application. Once submitted, CPAU will notify you of receipt. You will then have up to 18 months from the date your application is approved to complete your EVSE (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment) installation. Incentives are subject to funding availability. CPAU reserves the right to extend the project beyond 18 months if they determine that the site has shown good faith effort to complete the project.

This Electric Service Connection Fee Incentive Application allows you to save your information and return later to complete and submit when you are ready.

Please review the installation workflow prior to applying(PDF, 100KB) .

This program is not longer accepting new enrollments.

For more information about EV charging incentives and other electrification assistance programs, please contact CPAU staff at utilityprograms@cityofpaloalto.org.