Does Colorado charge a demand charge on EV charging?

Xcel's S-EV bills about $4.89 per kilowatt-month bundled, distribution-only, with no ratchet and no time window — among the lightest demand charges in the covered set. Generation and transmission recovery rides the time-of-use energy rates instead, so the daypart mix matters more in Colorado than the peak.

Is charging equipment exempt from Colorado property tax?

Yes, through tax years commencing before January 2030 under C.R.S. §39-3-138. The model nonetheless carries Denver's post-exemption rate of about 2.06% of value from year one, because the engine bills a constant annual rate — an intentional overstatement of the exempt years, disclosed and editable, rather than an understatement of the later ones.

How current are the modeled Colorado rates?

The row carries the July 2026 fuel-adjustment quarter and the 2026 rider vintages, with Colorado's 2.9% electricity sales tax folded. A rate-case settlement awaits an order expected around late August 2026, and the library re-derives the whole row at that order; the fuel adjustment also resets quarterly. Denver's separate home-rule tax on electricity varies by city and is disclosed rather than folded.

ForgeAsset / Supercharger ROI / Colorado

Tesla Supercharger ROI in Colorado

Colorado files an EV-specific rate that moves the demand burden into time-of-use pricing: Xcel's S-EV bills a distribution-only demand charge under $5 per kilowatt-month — no ratchet, no window — and recovers generation and transmission through an energy rate that runs about 25¢ on-peak against 12.6¢ off-peak once the full rider stack folds. The all-in spread is roughly two to one, so the daypart mix is the Colorado result's biggest lever. EV charging equipment is exempt from property tax through the 2029 tax year, which the model carries conservatively rather than optimistically.

Model a Colorado site

What makes Colorado economics distinct

Demand relief priced into the time windows

S-EV's $4.89 per kilowatt-month bundled demand charge is distribution-only — the standard commercial schedule bills several times that once generation and transmission demand fold in. The recovery moved into the energy windows instead: about 25.1¢ on-peak (4–10 p.m. weekdays in summer) against 12.6¢ off-peak all-in. A site that charges overnight-heavy sees the cheap side of a two-to-one spread.

The rider stack is most of the price

The filed base rates tell a misleading story — a ten-to-one seasonal spread that collapses once the fuel adjustment, six fixed per-kWh riders, the percentage bill riders, and the 2.9% electricity sales tax fold in. The modeled row carries the full stack at its 2026 vintages, with the quarterly fuel adjustment as the fastest-moving part.

A property-tax exemption the model deliberately understates

Colorado exempts EV charging systems from property tax through the 2029 tax year. The engine carries a constant annual rate, so the model applies Denver's post-exemption rate of about 2.06% from year one — overstating the exempt years by roughly $30,000 in total rather than understating the years after the sunset. The field is editable for a buyer who wants the exemption's literal timeline.

A rate order lands in late August

Xcel's pending Colorado rate case reached a filed settlement of about $225 million in June 2026, with a decision expected in the third quarter and new rates around late August. The modeled row carries current rates and the library re-derives at the order — the same current-rates precedent as other mid-case states in the set.

Utilities and tariffs modeled in Colorado

Utility & tariff	Energy	Demand
Xcel Energy CO S-EV	12.6¢/kWh–25.1¢/kWh by time of day	$4.89/kW of monthly peak

Rates are digit-verified against each utility's own filed sheets and update within two weeks of any revision. Full derivations are on the methodology page.

Colorado tax profile

Sales tax on hardware: 9.15%
Business personal property tax: 2.06% of equipment value (example rate)
Clean-fuels credit: no program
Per-kWh charging excise: none

Colorado tax defaults applied: no clean-fuels credit program exists in Colorado (the LCFS revenue line is $0 — the state rejected a low-carbon fuel standard in 2024), and LLC costs use the $25 periodic report. Sales tax uses Denver's 9.15% combined rate on hardware with separately stated installation labor untaxed at the state level; the electricity sales tax is already inside the modeled utility rate, and Denver's separate home-rule tax on electricity varies by city and is not folded. Business personal property is carried at Denver's post-exemption rate of about 2.06% of value from year one, even though Colorado exempts EV charging systems from property tax through the 2029 tax year — the model overstates the exempt years by roughly $30,000 in total rather than understating the years after the exemption ends; the field is editable. No per-kWh charging tax exists in Colorado.

Colorado programs and incentives

Charge Ahead Colorado (Colorado Energy Office)

Recurring grant rounds — per AFDC, up to 80% of cost and $7,000 to $40,000 per DC fast charger depending on power level, with several application windows per year.

DCFC Plazas (CEO + CDOT)

A program aimed specifically at multi-stall DC fast-charging plazas, funding up to 80% of project costs in competitive rounds.

Xcel Energy EV Supply Infrastructure

Xcel installs and owns make-ready infrastructure at no cost for participating commercial charging sites under its transportation electrification plan, with equipment rebates that vary by program cycle.

Colorado charging market

Colorado carries roughly 65 Supercharger stations along I-25, I-70, and the Front Range metros. Xcel's Public Service Company of Colorado serves Denver, Boulder, and most of the Front Range. Colorado Springs and Fort Collins run municipal utilities the model does not cover; addresses there see a named-utility notice rather than a wrong auto-selection.

Colorado Supercharger ROI — questions

Does Colorado charge a demand charge on EV charging?: Xcel's S-EV bills about $4.89 per kilowatt-month bundled, distribution-only, with no ratchet and no time window — among the lightest demand charges in the covered set. Generation and transmission recovery rides the time-of-use energy rates instead, so the daypart mix matters more in Colorado than the peak.
Is charging equipment exempt from Colorado property tax?: Yes, through tax years commencing before January 2030 under C.R.S. §39-3-138. The model nonetheless carries Denver's post-exemption rate of about 2.06% of value from year one, because the engine bills a constant annual rate — an intentional overstatement of the exempt years, disclosed and editable, rather than an understatement of the later ones.
How current are the modeled Colorado rates?: The row carries the July 2026 fuel-adjustment quarter and the 2026 rider vintages, with Colorado's 2.9% electricity sales tax folded. A rate-case settlement awaits an order expected around late August 2026, and the library re-derives the whole row at that order; the fuel adjustment also resets quarterly. Denver's separate home-rule tax on electricity varies by city and is disclosed rather than folded.

Sources

Model a Tesla V4 Supercharger site in Colorado — payback, NPV, IRR, and a 15-year cash flow from your own inputs.

Run a Colorado scenario

Other states: California, North Carolina, Georgia, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Florida, Arizona, Texas, Virginia, Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee, Montana, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Alabama, Missouri, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Louisiana, Nevada, Washington, Ohio, Utah, New Hampshire, Kentucky, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Maryland. Coverage spans thirty-nine states in total — see the full list.

ForgeAsset is software, not investment, tax, or legal advice — outputs are model estimates from your inputs, not guarantees. Rates and programs current as of research; verify current terms with each source before committing capital.