Edmunds: The True Cost of Powering an Electric Car

Is it my imagination or is that article just basically telling everyone that "Shazam!" The cost of powering an Electric car will be tied directly to the cost of electricity which is variable by location and by times of useage and demand?

Uh, did anyone not know this?

 

Along the lines of a petrol station charges much more for fuel if it's the only one for miles and miles? Surely you must get that in the US too?

The article is just alarmist nonsense.

 

Nail on head. It's junk "journalism".

-Brad

 

We sure do. Prices can also vary significantly within a few blocks, correlated to convenience and neighborhood affluence. And my nearest station, part of a major grocery chain, also changes prices by time of day.

Yet it still has better content than numerous other EV 'news' articles.

 

No question - good point!

-Brad

 

yep . . . furthering that basic understanding, which the article seems to re-hash, an EV's recharging is tied to fossil fuels even more inextricably than the author seems to realize ... 75% of electricity comes from fossil fuels (natural gas, coal, oil ... even those elements get used to manufacturer/maintain/de-comission the renewables ... from wind mill towers/generators, to PV panes, etc). So ... as the bare cost of our fossil fuels to MAKE electricity goes ... so goes the electricity's cost.
.

 

Did this a-hole ever hear of solar panels? Try that with gas.

 

My utility lets me choose if I want time of use (TOU) rates. Is it common that people do not have a choice ?

 

Why don't they mention electricity delivery fee and other charges plus the taxes that appears on the utility bill? The price of gas includes all those at the pump.

 

Most of us do not have TOU available yet.

 

Then I fail to understand what I thought was the point of the article: that EV owners must pay attention to the time of day they charge.

 

They figure everybody knows about that since that's the way electricity charging works. Of course, if they know everybody knows that then why didn't they figure everybody knows about time-of-use charging?

The funny thing is, they write as if the time-of-use rates are a bad thing. They're a good thing: they balance demand and reduce the need for generation capacity.

They also write as if this will be a burden. I believe this is how it goes in the LEAF: plug-in car, choose charge level 80%/100%, set timer (from/to), do stuff, go to bed, get up. I presume it remembers your last setting.

To add the final chunk of ignorance they forgot to take charging efficiency into account. A conservative estimate for L2 charging is 85% efficiency.

 

Exactly. I don't think EPA's 11 cents per kWh figure include those fees and taxes.

 

What if I start my charge at 12:55pm, but then it goes into 1:00pm. Will I be charged for the afternoon or lunch hour?

 

Well, tax would be excluded. Obviously monthly fees don't affect marginal rates.

The following document indicates an average of 11.51c/kWh in 2009:
Electric Power Annual - Average Retail Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector

The title suggests distributor rates are included.

 

His main observation is valid, that is, the cost of electricity will
vary by time of day and location. However, as others point
out, gasoline has its variances, too. [Gas also has a lot more
price volitility than electricity rates!] Anyways, his point
registers a yawn on my scale for "news."

What I feel is unfair about the article is his use of Hawaii to
compare extremes. He should just stick to the lower 48,
since HI and AK are extremes that do not affect the vast
majority of the population. By the way, I was in HI last
summer, and while gas cost $2.50 a gallon then in my
home state, it cost $4.00 a gallon in HI. Electricity cost
$.08/kwH in my home state, and it cost $.85/kwH in HI.

 

While most of us don't have TOU available yet, the fraction that does is significant. Most of the rest are overdue for it, and widespread adoption of EVs will apply additional pressure to force the issue.

 

Back to my first question then -- do these consumers not have a choice whether to pick TOU ?