What we do

EV Charger Installation in Austin

We publish what the rules actually say about electrical work across the Austin metro — sourced, dated, and specific to your permit office and your utility. The work itself is carried out by electricians licensed by the state.

A home charger is a dedicated 240-volt circuit run from your panel to wherever the car parks, ending either in a receptacle the unit plugs into or in a hardwired connection. The wire is the simple part. Whether your panel has room for the load, and what your utility wants in return, is the part that decides the job.

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Why this job is different in Austin

Austin is one of the few places where the utility will help pay for this, and where it attaches conditions worth knowing before you buy anything.

Austin Energy publishes a home charger rebate covering 50% of the cost to buy and install a qualified Level 2 (240V) station — up to $1,200 where the station or vehicle is Power Partner compatible, or up to $900 where it is not. The conditions it publishes matter as much as the amount: you must receive electricity from Austin Energy, you must have bought or leased a plug-in vehicle, the station must be new and UL, ETL or cETL listed, and it is one rebate per vehicle.

Two of those conditions catch people out. Austin Energy states that it requires a City of Austin electrical permit and inspection — so an unpermitted install is not just a code problem, it is a rebate problem. And a licensed electrician must perform hardwired installations. Funding is described as limited and first-come, first-served.

Outside Austin Energy's territory none of this applies, and your own utility may have its own programme or none at all. Check the top of your bill first.

How to tell you need it

Everyone needs the same three questions answered, and a contractor who skips them is guessing:

Is there a spare double-pole space in the panel? Not just a gap — a space the bus can actually take.
Does a load calculation for your house support the charger? This is arithmetic on your actual connected load, not a rule of thumb about panel age.
How far is the run, and through what? A garage wall shared with the panel is a different job from a detached carport across a driveway.

If the answer to the second question is no, you are looking at a service upgrade first, or at a charger that can manage its own load down.

What it costs

The rebate ceiling above is published by the utility and is the only figure on this page. What the work itself costs depends on the run, the panel and whether a load calculation forces anything else.

We publish no figures here. The numbers circulating for this market come from pages that cite nothing and carry no date, and repeating them while making sourcing our whole point would be self-defeating. Ask for a written scope instead of a headline price, and ask what changes it.

Permits and inspection for this work

This is permitted work, and here the utility says so itself as a condition of its own rebate. A homeowner may be able to permit it under a homestead permit — it is not the main electric service — but the rebate conditions require a licensed electrician for hardwired installations, so the two routes are not interchangeable if you want the money.

Whoever does this work should hold a TECL electrical contractor licence. State rules require that number on their advertising, their vehicles and their written proposals — ask for it and check it against the state's own licence search.

Panel breaker, conduit run, and then a choice: a 14-50 receptacle the unit plugs into, or a hardwired connection. That choice changes the breaker, the inspection and, in Austin, the rebate conditions.

Worth reading before you call

Where we cover

Austinone utility
Georgetownpage in progress
Round Rockone utility
Cedar Park2 possible utilities
Pflugervillepage in progress
Leanderone utility
Lakeway2 possible utilities
Dripping Springsone utility
Kyle & Budapage in progress
San Marcos3 possible utilities

Common questions

Can I install my own EV charger?

Possibly, under a homestead permit, since a charger circuit is not the main electric service. But Austin Energy's rebate requires a licensed electrician for hardwired stations, so doing it yourself may cost you the rebate.

Do I need a panel upgrade first?

Only if the load calculation says so. Ask to see it. A charger that supports load management can sometimes avoid an upgrade entirely.

Does the rebate apply outside Austin?

It applies to Austin Energy customers. Service territory does not follow city limits, so check the utility named on your bill.

Talk to an electrician about this job

Tell us which city you are in and what you need done, and we will connect you with a licensed contractor who works your area.