Time-of-Use Rates: Charge Your EV for Half Price Overnight

What a TOU plan changes

Standard plans charge one flat rate all day. Time-of-use plans price by hour: expensive during evening peaks (often 4-9pm), cheap overnight (often 11pm-6am) — and the overnight EV rates many utilities offer run 30-60% below the flat rate. In California, where flat rates exceed 30¢, EV-specific overnight rates can drop below 20¢; several Texas plans offer genuinely free overnight windows.

Since EVs charge while you sleep anyway, TOU is nearly free money for EV owners: same car, same charge, scheduled into the cheap window.

Setting it up

Two steps: ask your utility for their EV or TOU tariff (usually a form, sometimes a separate meter), then set the charging schedule — every EV and every smart charger can start charging at a set hour. Set it once to your cheap window's start and the discount happens forever. One caution: TOU makes peak-hour usage pricier, so households that can't shift big loads (AC in summer evenings) should compare full-bill impact, not just the EV line.