How does it work?

You connect your EV or home charger

Charge Ahead uses a free mobile app powered by ev.energy to connect to your EV or home charger to the program. Create an account and enroll in Charge Ahead today!

The app calculates your off-peak charging

Your connected EV or home charger’s telematics tracks your charging in real time to determine when you are charging your EV during off-peak periods to earn your incentives.

Your EV automatically smart charges on your schedule

Your EV will always be charged by your customized schedule. The app measures battery state of charge, charge speed and kilowatt-hours (kWh) required to ensure your EV is charged by your “ready by” time each day.

You can view your charging consumption and costs

Your charging history is displayed on your personalized Dashboard and Stats screens in the Charge Ahead app, powered by ev.energy, including estimated charging costs.

What are you waiting for?

Join Madison Gas and Electric EV drivers in the Charge Ahead program.

Managed charging rewards

How Do I Earn Cash for Charging?

Standard Rate Customers - Spring/Summer

Standard Rate Customers - Spring/Summer

Standard Rate Customers

Spring-Summer Off-peak Charging

Earn $8 per month between June and August for charging a minimum of 80% of the time during off-peak periods. Reminder, smart charging must be enabled in order to earn off-peak charging rewards.

Standard Rate Customers - Fall/Winter

Standard Rate Customers - Fall/Winter

Standard Rate Customers

Fall-Winter Off-Peak Charging

Earn $4 per month between September and May for charging a minimum of 80% of the time during off-peak periods. Reminder, smart charging must be enabled in order to earn off-peak charging rewards.

Time of Use Rate Customers

Time of Use Rate Customers

Time of Use Rate Customers

MGE will not initiate charging during peak times. You can expect to see savings on your monthly energy bill by charging during off-peak periods.

What EV Owners Are Saying

Don’t take our word for it, thousands of EV drivers already enjoy earning incentives with SmartCharge New York
"There are perks that come within SmartCharge New York. You can become an Ambassador, like I am. Why wouldn't you want to get paid? Plenty of incentives out there for any would-be EV owner."

Lisa and Servulus

SmartCharge New York participants - Canarsie, Brooklyn

"I have fallen in love with EVs - they're clean, powerful, and fast. The great thing about SmartCharge New York is if you commit to charging off peak you get money for participating in the program."

Paul Eng

SmartCharge New York participant - Bellerose, Queens

"I'm an environmentalist, and for me, it's doing what we can to minimize our carbon footprint. The SmartCharge NY program is great - I love it."

Miles and Peter McCartt

SmartCharge New York participants - Eastchester, N.Y.

"SmartCharge is a wonderful program where they give you money back for charging your electric vehicle during off-hours."

Michael and Suzanne Kelly

SmartCharge New York participants - Yonkers N.Y.

"SmartCharge's amazing dashboard provides stats - we saved 5,800 pounds of carbon dioxide last year!"

Rahul and Ankita

SmartCharge New York participants - Arden Heights, Staten Island

"SmartCharge is a no brainer - it saves you money!"

Susan and Jesse

SmartCharge New York participants - Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn

"SmartCharge rewards me for overnight charging - making owning EVs more affordable."

Paola, Amalia, and Trevor

SmartCharge New York participants - Astoria, Queens

Who knew smart charging could be so simple?

Join your fellow EV drivers in the Charge Ahead program

Need any help?

If you need Charge Ahead support please refer to the FAQ or contact us by email at mgecharge@ev.energy

FAQs

Who is eligible for Charge Ahead?

MGE residential electric customers who own or lease an EV and charge at home. A list of eligible electric vehicles and compatible chargers is below:

Supported Chargers

Acura

  • ZDX 2024+

Alfa Romeo

  • Tonale 2023+

Audi

  • e-Tron 2019+
  • Q4 e-Tron 2022+

BMW

  • 3 Series PHEV 2016+
  • 5 Series PHEV 2017+
  • 7 Series PHEV 2017+
  • i3 2017-2021
  • i3 +REX 2017-2021
  • i8 2017-2020
  • X3 PHEV 2020-21
  • X5 PHEV 2017+

Chevrolet

  • Bolt 2017 - 2022*
  • Bolt 2023+
  • Bolt EUV 2022*
  • Bolt EUV 2023+
  • Equinox EV 2024+
  • Silverado EV 2024+
  • Spark EV 2015-2016
  • Volt 2017-19

Dodge

  • Hornet PHEV 2023+

Fiat

  • 500e 2024+

GMC

  • Hummer EV 2022+

Honda

  • Prologue 2024+

Hyundai

  • Ioniq 5 2022+
  • Ioniq 6 2023+
  • Ioniq Electric 2017-2021
  • Ioniq PHEV 2018-2024
  • Kona Electric 2019+
  • Santa Fe PHEV 2022+
  • Sonata PHEV 2017-2019
  • Tuscon PHEV 2022+

Jaguar

  • I-Pace 2019+

Kia

  • EV6 2022+
  • EV9 2024+
  • Niro EV 2019+
  • Niro PHEV 2018+
  • Optima PHEV 2017-2020
  • Sorento PHEV 2022+
  • Soul EV 2017-2020
  • Sportage PHEV 2023+

Mazda

  • CX-60 2024+
  • CX-90 2024+
  • MX-30 2022+

Nissan

  • Ariya 2023+

Porsche

  • 992 PHEV 2022+
  • Cayenne 2020+
  • Taycan 2020+

Ram

  • 1500 REV 2024+

Subaru

  • Solterra 2023+

Tesla

  • Cybertruck 2024+
  • Model 3 2017+
  • Model S 2012+
  • Model X 2016+
  • Model Y 2020+

*Chevrolet Bolt and Bolt EUV models prior to 2023 must have completed the recall service in order to be eligible.

Can I participate if I live in an apartment or condo?

Yes. Apartment and condo residents are eligible to participate if your parking stall can be serviced by your electric panel. This is most often the case in townhome style units with attached garages.

How will MGE manage my charging?

MGE uses a platform called ev.energy that allows us to connect to your vehicle and obtain your charging preferences (ready-by time) to optimize charging through the telematic system in your vehicle. MGE will primarily shift eligible customers' charging to times when the grid is less busy (off-peak), but may control vehicle charging during periods of high demand or high energy cost, when renewables are available and/or for testing purposes.

Learn more about how the algorithm works here.

What is off-peak and when does it occur?

Off-peak is the time of day when energy use on our community grid is low.

MGE's off-peak hours are weekdays from 9 p.m. to 10 a.m. as well as weekends and holidays.

Maximize your off-peak charging with these helpful smart charging tips. Remember, in order to earn monthly rewards, you must have smart charging enabled in the ev.energy app

Can you ensure my vehicle will be available when I need it?

In the ev.energy app, you enter the time you need your vehicle charged and ready to go. You also can press the Boost button to override managed charging and begin charging immediately.

Learn more about how the algorithm works here.

How will I be rewarded for my participation?

If you are on MGE's standard rate and shift at least 80% of your monthly charging to off-peak hours, you will receive a monthly reward for participating in Charge Ahead. Rewards will be paid quarterly at a rate of $8 per month for June through August and $4 per month for September through May. These rewards will be paid out on a quarterly basis via Paypal or Venmo. You will be able to enter your Paypal or Venmo information through the ev.energy app. In order to qualify for monthly rewards, you must have smart charging enabled within the ev.energy app and must not perform more than three “unmanaged” (non-smart) at-home charging sessions per month.

If you are enrolled in our Shift & Save (time-of-use) rate, you can expect to see savings on your monthly energy bill by charging during off-peak periods

How do I connect my EV to the ev.energy app?

Once you download the ev.energy app, we will ask you to connect using your EV account (BMW ConnectedDrive, Tesla, Audi Connect, Chevrolet OnStar or FordPass) username and password.

Are my username and password secure?

ev.energy will not see or store your EV account, username and password. When you enter your username and password into the ev.energy app, ev.energy instantly exchanges them for a secure token that allows us to access your account and optimize your charging. Check out ev.energy's privacy policy.

What information from my vehicle is shared with MGE and ev.energy?
  • Battery level
  • State of charge
  • Charging history including kilowatt-hours (kWh) delivered per half hour
  • GPS coordinates for charging locations
How will ev.energy use my EV account to manage charging?

The ev.energy app will measure battery capacity and charging power to estimate kilowatt-hours (kWh) required to ensure your vehicle is fully charged by the time you requested.

Will MGE manage my charging away from home, for example, at a public charger?

No. MGE will manage charging only when your vehicle is plugged in at the address provided in the ev.energy app.

Where can I review the Charge Ahead Participation Agreement?

You can review the Charge Ahead Participation Agreement here. mge.ev.energy/participation-agreement

How do I connect multiple cars to my account?

From the Dashboard screen:
1. Tap on the Vehicle Switcher above the status roundel.
2. Next, you will be prompted to add your second EV. Tap Add a new vehicle.
3. Follow the steps to select your vehicle make, model and trim and then enter your account details to create a connection between ev.energy and your vehicle app.
4. Tap Okay on the success screen.

From the Vehicle Settings page:
1. Tap on the cogwheel icon to access your app Settings.
2. In the Settings panel, tap Vehicles.
3. On this screen, you should see the vehicles you already have on your account. Tap Add a new vehicle.
4. Follow the steps to select your vehicle make, model and trim, and then enter your account details to create a connection between ev.energy and your vehicle app.
5. Tap Okay on the success screen.
6. Once your new vehicle is added, you should see it on the list. Tap on the vehicle name to see more or to update details.

How do I delete my account

You can request to delete your Charge Ahead account at any time directly via the app. After you've put your request in, you will have 7 days to cancel this if you change your mind. After that, we will permanently delete your account and all associated data. You will not be able to recover the account after this.

Note: You'll lose all the data and content in that account and all the information on your charging sessions so far. Learn how to download the data you want to keep.

Deleting your account
1. Tap on the cogwheel icon at the top left corner of the screen
2. Head to your Personal Details page3. Tap the option 'Close my account'
4. Confirm you wan to delete the account by tapping 'Request account closure'
5. You will see a confirmation screen that the deletion process was triggered
6. In case you change your mind, tap the option 'Cancel closure'. You can return to this screen at any time within the 7 day grace period.

If you have any questions about this process or would like assistance, please get in touch with support at mgecharge@ev.energy

How much you can earn

See what real participants have been earning

Low
Mileage
Average Participant
High
Mileage
3-Month Bonus
$25
$25
$25
Avoided Summer Peak
$175
$175
$175
Off-peak Charging
$25
250 kWh
$150
1500 kWh
$625
6250 kWh
Refer-a-friend
$0
x0
$25
x1
$150
x5
Annual Survey
$25
$25
$25
Total Earned
$250
$400
$1,000