SMUD’s Charge@Home Rebate: What It Covers and How to Get It

Thinking about installing an EV charger for your Sacramento home? If you’re a SMUD customer, there’s a rebate program that can take a real bite out of the cost — and getting it doesn’t have to mean piles of paperwork on your end.

Here’s what SMUD’s Charge@Home program covers, who qualifies, and how we make claiming it easy when you install with Gubrud Services.

What Is SMUD’s Charge@Home Program?

Charge@Home is SMUD’s rebate program for residential customers installing a Level 2 EV charger at home. It’s designed to offset two of the biggest costs of home charging: the charger itself, and the electrical work needed to power it safely.

Between the charger and the circuit installation, eligible customers can receive up to $600 combined through the program. If you’re on SMUD’s Energy Assistance Program Rate (EAPR), you may qualify for an even bigger rebate — potentially covering the full cost of your charger and installation.

Do You Qualify?

A few things determine your eligibility:

• Your electricity provider. This one trips people up. Not every Sacramento-area home is served by SMUD — it depends on your address, not your city. Sacramento, Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova, Elk Grove, and most of unincorporated Sacramento County fall under SMUD. Roseville, Folsom, El Dorado Hills, Rocklin, Lincoln, and most of Placer County are served by PG&E instead, which has its own separate rebate programs. Check the top of your electric bill if you’re not sure.
• Your charger. The charger has to be a new, eligible Level 2 unit — not something you already own or a used unit.
• Your installer. For SMUD to process your rebate as part of installation (rather than you filing it yourself after the fact), your electrician needs to be part of the SMUD Contractor Network.

How Gubrud’s Makes This Easy

We’re part of the SMUD Contractor Network, which means we handle the Charge@Home rebate application as part of your Rancho Cordova EV charger installation — not as a separate task you have to remember later.

In practice, that looks like:

1. We assess your home’s electrical panel and confirm you have (or can get) the capacity for a Level 2 charger.
2. We recommend an eligible charger and handle the install, including permits and inspection.
3. We submit the rebate paperwork on your behalf, so the savings land without extra steps on your end.

No hunting for receipts three months later. No guessing whether your charger qualifies. We check that before we start the job.

What a Home EV Charger Actually Costs

Even with the rebate, it helps to know what you’re working with. A Level 2 charger installation typically runs somewhere between $800 and a few thousand dollars, depending on your panel’s existing capacity — homes that need a panel upgrade or a new dedicated circuit will land higher on that range than homes that don’t. We’ll give you a firm number after we take a look at your panel, not a guess over the phone.

Ready to Charge at Home?

If you’re a SMUD customer thinking about a home EV charger, now’s a good time to get the ball rolling — rebate programs like this one are subject to available funding, so the earlier you apply, the better your odds.

Give us a call or book online, and we’ll walk you through what you qualify for before any work begins.