FPL Advertisement about EV charging

[FloridaJohn]

One important thing is the price, which should be locked for 10 years. FPL confirmed this during my calls before I applied for the program, but this information is not even included in the FAQ,

I would take that statement with a grain of salt. The EV charging rates are listed on the official FPL rate sheet. Right now, the off peak rate is listed as zero cents. At any time they request a rate adjustment from the state they could make that rate higher.

I don't think they currently have any incentive to raise that rate, but if, for example, 80% of the cars on the road are EVs taking advantage of this plan, I think there would a lot of pressure on FPL to make some money from the charging of all those cars. There is no immediate need to do that, so I'm not worried about it, but who knows 9 or 10 years from now what the landscape will look like.

 

[arcos]

I would take that statement with a grain of salt. The EV charging rates are listed on the official FPL rate sheet. Right now, the off peak rate is listed as zero cents. At any time they request a rate adjustment from the state they could make that rate higher.

I don't think they currently have any incentive to raise that rate, but if, for example, 80% of the cars on the road are EVs taking advantage of this plan, I think there would a lot of pressure on FPL to make some money from the charging of all those cars. There is no immediate need to do that, so I'm not worried about it, but who knows 9 or 10 years from now what the landscape will look like.

Thanks for this information. I didn't look at their rate sheet.
But if we have a contract for 10 years (when I write it, I still think we should have this contract) and I have to pay a penalty fee for the termination, I should know the price. If they change the price, I should be able to terminate the contract without any penalty fees.
All terms like that should be described somewhere.

I can imagine a situation when they decide (in the next 5 years) that for new clients the price will be increased. But for us, it should be locked (as customer service said). But for this, the rate sheet can be not sufficient.

 

[arcos]

Today I looked at the rates sheet and this is what I found:
1. On-peak price per kWh is different in the rates sheet (23.71 cents) than in their FAQ (22.87 cents). I understand that they changed the price, but the FAQ should be updated too.

2. TERM OF SERVICE (page 30 of Rates) "The term of Service will be set forth in the Agreement. At the end of the term of Service, the ownership of the Equipment shall transfer to the Customer. ".
So we should have an agreement with FPL.

Without an agreement, theoretically, they change the price of the service and a termination fee to whatever they want.

Documents:
Rates Schedules (pages 29-30): https://www.fpl.com/content/dam/fplgp/us/en/rates/pdf/electric-tariff-section8.pdf
Evolution Home FAQ: FPL | FPL EV FAQ

 

[FloridaJohn]

Going from memory, so I could be wrong, but I think the agreement spells out the costs by referencing the rate sheet without calling out a specific price. So there is a way for FPL to change pricing without modifying the agreement.

Like I said earlier, I don’t think they are going to do anything to pricing anytime soon. I think they are just keeping their options open. But FPL is not a very trustworthy company in my opinion, so I always keep an eye open for shenanigans from them.

 

[arcos]

Going from memory, so I could be wrong, but I think the agreement spells out the costs by referencing the rate sheet without calling out a specific price. So there is a way for FPL to change pricing without modifying the agreement.

Like I said earlier, I don’t think they are going to do anything to pricing anytime soon. I think they are just keeping their options open. But FPL is not a very trustworthy company in my opinion, so I always keep an eye open for shenanigans from them.

But I didn't receive any agreement, so it doesn't refer to the rates.
Additionally, there is no termination fee (amount) in rates. I only know it from FAQ, but this is not up to date either.

PROVISIONS FOR EARLY TERMINATION:
Customer has the right to terminate the Agreement for its convenience upon written notice to Company on at least thirty (30) days prior notice. Termination fees will be assessed in accordance with the Agreement.

I will call them on Monday.

 

[golferguy]

But I didn't receive any agreement, so it doesn't refer to the rates.
Additionally, there is no termination fee (amount) in rates. I only know it from FAQ, but this is not up to date either.

PROVISIONS FOR EARLY TERMINATION:
Customer has the right to terminate the Agreement for its convenience upon written notice to Company on at least thirty (30) days prior notice. Termination fees will be assessed in accordance with the Agreement.

I will call them on Monday.

Here are the related FPL filings with the PSC and all the details. Rates and customer contract.

 

[arcos]

Here are the related FPL filings with the PSC and all the details. Rates and customer contract.

Thanks for the agreement template.
Did you receive/sign your agreement?
I haven't received anything.

So it looks like they can change the service fee anytime.
Termination fees are not specified either. They depend on the "cost to uninstall, remove and redeploy the Equipment".
FPL can also terminate the agreement at any time.

 

[golferguy]

Thanks for the agreement template.
Did you receive/sign your agreement?
I haven't received anything.

So it looks like they can change the service fee anytime.
Termination fees are not specified either. They depend on the "cost to uninstall, remove and redeploy the Equipment".
FPL can also terminate the agreement at any time.

Nope, too may gotchas.
I decided on Time of Use since I have 2 Tesla's. I had the Tesla Wall Charger and my bills went down year over year with TOU. Even with the Jan 2023 price increase.

Net I save $50-$65 per month vs paying $31-$38 extra.

 

[robl45]

My FPL charger was finally installed a week ago. I didn't know if it was possible to keep my current outlet and install a new charger, but I thought it might be a good option. But when I heard that I would have to wait 2-3 months for the full installation, and the charger alone could be installed in three weeks, I didn't even ask about the other option.

In addition, I calculated that the full installation would cost me $84 more per year ($31 vs $38/month). So if the 1 kWh in pick hours costs me about 10 cents more than the regular price (23 cents vs. 13 cents), I would have to use 840 kWh a year during peak hours to make it worthwhile (leaving a socket). I don't think I'll use it.

The biggest downside for me was the lack of an unlock button to release the charger.

But since I have automated my house with the Home Assistant, I added a Lutron Pico switch that completely solved this problem.
I programmed the switch to open and close the charging port and unlock the charger. And I don't even need to have my car keys (iPhone) with me.
I also used two additional buttons to turn the lights on/off and open/close the garage door.

It works perfectly and is even more convenient than the Tesla charger.


View attachment 985374

Can you explain for the idiots how you did this, I have lutron switch and hub in my house that I use through Alexa, do I need something else besides thepico remote to do what you did.?

 

[arcos]

Can you explain for the idiots how you did this, I have lutron switch and hub in my house that I use through Alexa, do I need something else besides thepico remote to do what you did.?

I don't think you can do it just with Alexa.
I use Home Assistant. It is free software, but it needs to be installed (in my case on Raspberry Pi) and run 24/7.
It integrates different smart devices, switches, sensors, etc. Tesla car is one of them.