By Zach Owens

For 14 years, I did not have a car. I walked. I biked. I took the light rail. I took the bus. I Ubered. I Lyfted. I borrowed my dad’s truck. I carpooled with coworkers. I texted friends for rides. I was a Colorado Car Share Member. I rented cars. I think I did it all.

This was juxtaposed with my professional role of spending 10+ years developing public Electric Vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure to increase EV adoption across the state. While I drove a company EV for work occasionally, I developed and implemented many of these programs without the practical day-to-day experience of being an EV driver.

In 2024, my partner and I were raising our goldendoodle puppy, Gilmore. He had a series of unfortunate events swallowing things he should not have and needed to be rushed to the emergency vet. One day, a neighbor’s dog was playing with a plush banana, and Gilmore ran up and somehow swallowed it. I needed to take him to the vet ASAP and I did not have a car. I frantically texted friends for a ride. We somehow got Gilmore there, they removed the banana, and then a friend took us home.

But this was my turning point. I realized now with Gilmore in my life, I needed a car for situations like this. So, in the summer of 2024 I leased a Chevy EV Equinox. It felt like I was driving a spaceship from the future after going so many years without a car! I was excited to have more freedom and figured installing a home EV charger would be no problem after a decade in the industry.

But I ran into more barriers than I ever anticipated.

I live in a townhome that has a “party wall agreement’ with 9 other units. The party wall agreement states we are not a common interest community and therefore do not have a formal homeowners association (HOA). In good faith, I started to reach out to all my neighbors to inform them about the EV charger I’d like to install to see if they have any questions or concerns.

Everyone was ok with it except for one neighbor, who believed I would need an easement to install the charger. When I read the party wall agreement, I interpreted that I did not need an easement because there is a blanket easement for utility lines. I wasn’t sure where to turn, so I contacted Brendle Group’s Employee Assistance Program and got access to legal advice from a lawyer who specializes in property rights. I learned that since I am in a “Party Wall Agreement,” Colorado’s Right to Charge Law did not apply as it only applies to “Common Interest Communities” aka homeowners’ associations. I had uncovered a unique legal situation not covered in Colorado Law and was advised that the best path forward would be to call a vote of homeowners to amend the party wall agreement.

With these unexpected delays, I was forced to charge publicly the majority of the time, except when I could plug in at a friend or family member’s place. I spent a lot of time at the Electrify America station at Target, and the Tesla supercharging station at the Edgewater Marketplace; and while these are fun locations to shop and spend time with friends, I was paying ~$0.56/kWh to charge.

In April of this year, I finally followed the lawyer’s advice and called a formal meeting of homeowners to vote on the amendment to the party wall agreement to allow EV charging. The vote passed 8/10; with 2 owners not in attendance.

I was excited to roll up my sleeves and get a home charger installed. As an Xcel Energy customer, I followed their guidance to qualify for the EV Charger & Wiring Rebate. Key steps included:

  • Quotes: I got 3 quotes from electricians to compare costs. This typically involved sending pics of my electric panel and in one case had a FaceTime call to look at the site.
  • I enrolled in Optimize Your Charge which qualified me for both a $50 annual bill credit and $500 rebate for charger installation for charging the majority time off peak (12AM – 2PM currently).
  • I selected an electrician and scheduled an installation. It took about 3 hours and went smoothly!
  • I paid for the charger out of pocket and then submitted my documents for the rebate including the charger invoice and serial number.

In less than a month, my rebate was approved and sent to me! I also have my charger connected to Wifi, so it is programmed to charge during off peak hours automatically. The final step was an inspection with the City, which took less than 5 minutes, and they said I was good to go!

It’s been a long journey, but now I only pay $0.06-0.08 per kWh (depending on season), wake up with an 80% battery every day (to preserve the battery life) and spend less on amenities. I still use other forms of transit such as RTD’s light rail when I go to our downtown Denver office, but it’s nice to have the peace of mind of having a charged EV ready to go when an unexpected trip may be needed.

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About the Author – Zach is a leader in sustainable transportation with more than 14 years of experience in public charging infrastructure, fleet analysis, equitable community charging, utility program design, funding and financing options, community engagement, and sustainability planning.

Zach’s background in electric vehicles includes work on the utility side with Xcel Energy and with the State of Colorado working within the Colorado Energy Office (CEO). He managed Xcel Energy’s Colorado commercial clean transportation programs, which offers Brendle Group clients unique support in navigating utility program and rebate offerings as well as utility energy supply for charging infrastructure. At CEO, Zach developed and managed grant programs for EV charging across Colorado including the Charge Ahead Colorado program, Fast-Charging Corridors, and Fast-Charging Plazas programs. He also oversaw the state’s efforts to develop an EV education and awareness campaign. Zach’s experience spans across community charging hubs, public charging, workplaces, fleets, multifamily buildings, small businesses, and utility owned and operated public fast chargers.