5,000 Sonoma County electric vehicle owners receive PG&E rebates

More than 5,000 electric vehicle owners, accounting for 1% of Sonoma County’s population, have received rebates up to $800 from PG&E under a climate change-fighting incentive program that ends Dec. 31.

The state’s largest utility has paid more than $95 million since 2017 to about 147,500 residential electric customers who have purchased or leased electric vehicles.

Sonoma County had the sixth most Clean Fuel Rebate recipients of counties in PG&E’s service area and the most among seven North Bay and North Coast counties, edging Marin with about 4,700 rebate recipients.

Santa Rosans claimed 1,930 rebates, more than one-third of the county’s total. Eco-conscious Sebastopol had the highest number per capita in Sonoma County with 579 rebates for a population of nearly 8,000.

Santa Clara County was tops among 46 counties with 44,937 rebates overall, while Alpine, Lassen, Sierra and Trinity counties all had fewer than 10.

“If you are considering an electric car there’s no time like the present (to act), especially with $800 on the line,” said Doron Amiran, program manager with The Climate Center, a Santa Rosa-based nonprofit.

The one-time $800 rebate “won’t necessarily make or break” a car deal, he said, but there is also a federal tax credit of up to $7,500 for most electric vehicle brands plus a state rebate of up to $4,500 for purchase of a new electric vehicle, with the amount depending on the buyer’s income.

Sonoma Clean Power, the public electricity supplier, offers customers a free electric vehicle charger, with tax, shipping and installation not included, he said.

Put together, the financial incentives are significant, Amiran said.

Transportation accounts for the largest share of California’s greenhouse gas emissions, at 41% of the annual 425 million metric tons.

“The science tells us that burning fossil fuels in our vehicles is a major contribution to global warming,” Amiran said. “Burning liquid fuel in a tank and spewing toxic exhaust out the tailpipe is so 20th century.”

California is the nation’s leader in electric vehicles with nearly 700,000 on the road, including well over 10,000 in Sonoma County, he said.

PG&E has set its own commitment to further electrify its vehicle fleet by 2030, including 100% of its light-duty fleet, 10% of its medium-duty fleet and 5% of its heavy-duty fleet,

“Expanding the use of electric vehicles is essential for California to achieve its bold climate goals,” PG&E said in a news release.

The utility said it has offered special residential electric vehicle rates since 2013, with overnight charging costing the equivalent of about $1.70 per gallon of gasoline.

Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order in September banning the sale of all new gasoline-powered cars and trucks by 2035 in what amounts to the most aggressive clean-car policy in the United States.

"Our cars shouldn't make wildfires worse — and create more days filled with smoky air,“ he said in a statement. ”Cars shouldn't melt glaciers or raise sea levels threatening our cherished beaches and coastlines."

The electric vehicle rebate program launched in 2017 as a $500 rebate and changed to $800 effective Jan 1. 2019. Dec. 31 is the deadline for applying for a rebate.

For information on PG&E’s support for customers with electric vehicles, including applications for the Clean Fuel Rebate and a tool to evaluate the cost of owning an electric vehicle compared to a gas-powered model, go to pge.com/ev.

You can reach Staff Writer Guy Kovner at 707-521-5457 or guy.kovner@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @guykovner.