The number of electric vehicles is growing in the Valley, at least in one of the region’s major electricity service areas.
Salt River Project announced Friday more than 53,500 electric vehicles have been purchased or leased in its service territory as of April 30, 2024, the end of its 2024 fiscal year.

SRP aims to support the adoption of 1 million electric vehicles in its service area by 2035 and manage 90% of the charging, officials said.

“Helping customers reach this new EV adoption milestone is a clear sign that interest in sustainable transportation is growing,” said Jason Smith, SRP’s manager of electric vehicle strategy, said in a press release. “We’re seeing a significant shift in how people think about transportation, with electric vehicles being recognized as not just a smart environmental choice, but also a smart financial one.”

SRP has developed several programs to bolster use by EV owners into his electric grid. The utility offers a specialized EV price plan that allows recharging at what officials called “significantly lower rates” during super off-peak hours. SRP’s residential smart charger program provides customers a $250 rebate on a qualified smart charger or discounted pricing on chargers through srpmarketplace.com.

The company saw 3,193 chargers were purchased or discounted through the program during fiscal year 2024, a 58% increase over the previous year’s total of 2,020 chargers, officials said in the release.

In a partnership with Qmerit, SRP is simplifying the process of installing EV chargers at home. The program provides home installation services for smart EV chargers with upfront pricing estimates and professional installation services.