Electric Vehicles (EVs)

The City recognizes the immense projected growth of EVs in our territory and is working to prepare electric infrastructure for that growth, both through grid capacity and public charging infrastructure.

For information on how EVs work, please visit the following Department of Energy website: https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/electric

How to charge EVs?

If you live in a house with a garage:

1. You can simply plug in a level 1 AC charger to a wall outlet, charging your vehicle at 120V, like any other appliance in your house.
2. You can install a 240V outlet (like the one for your dryer) in the garage, enabling charging with a level 2 AC charger, charging your vehicle at 240V and higher currents, enabling up to 8x faster charging speeds than level 1 chargers. To install a level 2 charger at home, depending on the scope of work, an electrical inspection may be required. In order to receive an inspection, you must have a valid City of Newark Building Permit. Please contact the Building department to initiate this process. As of Jan. 1^st, 2024, all new single-family homes must be built with a 240V circuit in the garage. Code reference. 

If you live in an apartment:

1. If your apartment has EV chargers in its parking lot, you can use them. If it doesn’t, you should ask your landlord to install EV chargers for resident use. As of Jan. 1^st, 2025, all new multi-family dwellings must be built with EV chargers for at least 5% of parking spaces, with infrastructure prepared for 10% of spaces. The chargers must draw more than 30 amps of current, meaning they are at least level 2 AC chargers. Code reference. When you ask them, you can inform them of the DNREC rebates that give them up to $3,500 per single-port charger and $7,000 per double-port charger. 
2. If you live near accessible public charging, you can utilize it. Additionally, if you work at an office with EV chargers, you can rely on those for charging. To find public charging locations in Newark, you can find maps online including the Chargepoint charger map.

EV Incentives

The City does not currently offer any EV incentives. We are putting our efforts into preparing capacity for EV charging and providing accessible public charging. However, there are state and federal level incentives that should be utilized. Information on all state rebates can be found on the following website: https://afdc.energy.gov/laws/all?state=DE

State:

• DNREC offers rebates on EVs and PHEVs in the amounts of $2,500 for a new or pre-owned EV with a MSRP below $40,000, $1,500 for a new EV with a MSRP between $40,000 and $50,000, and $1,000 for a new or pre-owned PHEV with MSRP below $50,000 if new and $40,000 if pre-owned. https://dnrec.delaware.gov/climate-coastal-energy/clean-transportation/vehicle-rebates/
• DNREC offers rebates on EV charging infrastructure for workplace and multi-family dwelling EV chargers. For workplaces they offer up to $2,500 for single-port level 2 chargers and $5,000 for dual-port level 2 chargers. For multi-family dwellings, they offer up to $3,500 for single-port level 2 chargers and $7,000 for dual-port level 2 chargers. https://dnrec.delaware.gov/climate-coastal-energy/clean-transportation/ev-charging-equipment-rebates/

Federal:

• Up to $7,500 tax credit for purchasing a new EV. Up to $4,000 for purchasing a used EV. https://afdc.energy.gov/laws/ev-tax-credits
• Tax credit equal to 30% of the cost of an EV charging port, components necessary to its operation, and labor for constructing and installing the charger, up to $1000. https://afdc.energy.gov/laws/ev-tax-credits
• The rest of federal incentives can be found here: https://afdc.energy.gov/laws/fed_summary

Interested in Vehicle-To-Grid?

Vehicle-To-Grid is a concept where customer EVs can discharge power back to the electric utility and receive compensation for it. At this point, there isn’t a City financial incentive for V2G, as electric usage is billed at the same rate regardless of time. However, if time-of-use rates are adopted in the future, there could be incentive for discharging an EV during peak times and charging during off-peak. If this becomes applicable, this section will be updated accordingly. Despite this, you can still fill out the generator interconnection application to get your EV registered for vehicle-to-grid, and receive kWh credits if you export energy to the grid. 

If you have any EV-related questions, please contact Lucas Beidler (lbeidler@newark.de.us) or call the electric department at 302-366-7000.