A Riverview man is the first in Hillsborough County to get a commercial meter installed at his home that allows him to charge his Tesla at night for about 75 percent cheaper than the residential rate, according to Tampa Electric.

'Time of use' meter cost Bryan Hurt $1,500

Hurt able to have 2nd meter in his company's name at home

Expects to pay roughly $40 per month to charge Tesla

“This is a unique situation, and with the rising popularity of electric cars we may have more requests like this,” said TECO spokesperson Cherie Jacobs. “We’re going to look at that as things progress and see how things go.”



Bryan Hurt said it cost him about $1,500 to have that ‘time of use’ meter installed at his home this week, and he expects it’ll pay for itself in about one year.



“If that’s a $100 savings a month, 15 months, it’s paid for,” he said. “No big deal.”



Hurt was able to get TECO to hook up a second meter at his single family residence because it’s in his company’s name, General Holdings Inc., and the nearly $140,000 Tesla is registered to that business.



“It is for business purposes and his business will be paying the bill,” Jacobs said. “So, it lended [sic] itself well to having a commercial rate and a commercial meter.”

The two separate meters now installed at Bryan Hurt's single family residence. (Photo: Josh Rojas, staff)



The fixed rate on a residential meter is 10.5 cents per kilowatt hour. Jacobs said after 10 p.m., the commercial rate on the time of use meter drops to about 4 cents per kilowatt hour. Hurt said under that rate he expects to pay about $40 a month to charge his Tesla.



“Massively cheaper,” he said.



During peak hours, the time of use meter costs 18 cents per kilowatt hour. Hurt said he’s aware of the fluctuating rate and always charges his Tesla after midnight.



“It skyrockets … if you use it incorrectly and improperly, the way it was not meant to be used,” Hurt said. “During the day, if I had an emergency and I needed to charge my car, I still have my original home charger.”



Hillsborough County Development Services said the building code allows for only one electrical service per structure, but they granted Hurt a permit under an exception for a second meter that has different rate schedules. The Chief Electrical inspector approved the project on Thursday.



The environmentally conscious man is paving the way for other electric vehicle owners in Hillsborough County.



“That’s absolutely awesome for everybody around. It’s great for the ecology, it’s great for the homeowners and it’s great for the people,” Hurt said. “it’ll promote better stewardship of the planet. I think Hillsborough County did the right thing in approving that.”