The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities recently announced Year Three of its electric vehicle incentive initiative, the Charge Up New Jersey Program, was expected to obligate all funds this week.
Based on the program’s current rate of application approvals and eligible vehicle orders, NJBPU estimates that the program’s Fiscal Year 2023 funding will be committed by purchases, orders and leases made through Monday.
To accurately capture all eligible orders for the program and ensure that residents have adequate time to receive and register their new EVs with the support of available program funding, the eligibility window for the FY23 program was paused at 9 p.m. that day.
At the end of 2022, there were more than 91,000 electric vehicles on New Jersey roadways, making EVs 8% of all new car sales for the year.
By the close of the program, an estimated $35 million will have been disbursed this year to support the purchase or lease of over 10,000 new EVs by New Jersey residents.
“The Charge Up New Jersey Program has been one of the great success stories of the (Gov. Phil) Murphy administration,” NJBPU President Joseph Fiordaliso said. “As we fight the ravages of climate change, it is increasingly important to dramatically reduce the greenhouse gases generated by gas-guzzling cars and encourage New Jerseyans to drive electric. The Charge Up program has been an incredibly popular incentive that has put more electric vehicles on New Jersey roadways.”
Vehicle electrification is a key part of Murphy’s clean energy agenda, which includes increased renewable energy like solar and wind, as well as enhanced energy efficiency to reduce emissions and to transition New Jersey to 100% clean energy by 2035.
In support of that goal, drivers looking to make the switch to electric have enthusiastically embraced the Charge Up New Jersey Program, which provides an incentive of up to $4,000 at the time of the purchase or lease of a new EV. In total, NJBPU anticipates the Charge Up program will have provided over $90 million in incentives for the lease or purchase of nearly 25,000 EVs since the program opened in May 2020.
In order to qualify for the Year Three Charge Up incentive, New Jersey residents had to order, purchase, or lease an eligible EV in the state on or after July 25, 2022 and before the pause of the program on Monday.
