EV Ownership Benefits

This article was originally published in Carolina Country magazine.

Q: I’ve been seeing more electric vehicles (EVs) in my neighborhood and around town. I’m intrigued by the technology but have questions, especially about costs. What are some things to know?

A: It’s not surprising that you’re encountering more of these vehicles — around 125,000 light-duty EVs navigate North Carolina’s roads these days, and they hold a market share of nearly 8%.

There are certainly a lot of things we could discuss about EVs: their performance, their charging, their environmental impacts. But their cost to own and operate is top of mind for many potential consumers. And perhaps unexpectedly, that can relate to how co-ops manage the power grid.

Let’s dig in.

I got my first EV this past summer. I did my research and generally knew what to anticipate. But then my next couple of electric bills came in, and I was still caught off guard.

Then I remembered that although I’m now paying more for electricity each month, my gas expenses are $0. In fact, when it’s all said and done, I should save around $700 annually on fuel — that’s not nothing, and it’s not uncommon, depending on your driving habits.

I’m fortunate that I have the ability to charge at home (I’m currently using just a regular 120-volt outlet) as well as where I work (with a quicker Level 2 setup). If I didn’t have those luxuries and needed to charge at public locations, my savings would be considerably lower, and potentially nonexistent.

When I charge at home, I’m paying the same amount for each unit of electricity (a kilowatt-hour, or kWh) as I do when running the dishwasher, lights or any other appliance or device. At public chargers, other entities set the price per kWh, and it’s typically more expensive.

An important factor in this discussion is your electricity rate. Your co-op may offer time-of-use pricing that adjusts the cost of electricity based on the time of day. Compared with the more common flat rate, time-of-use rates have you pay more for electricity when demand tends to be higher (and the grid more strained), such as on winter mornings, and much less during periods of lower demand, like overnight.

The goal is to encourage members to move their electricity use — including their EV charging — to “off-peak” windows of time.

On an individual level, effectively making that shift when on this type of rate will likely save you money. For your co-op, it’s easier and more cost-efficient to manage electricity that’s spread out over time than condensed into a small period. Limiting “peak” electricity demand may reduce the need to upgrade poles, wires and other infrastructure, and ultimately keep down wholesale power costs, which benefits you and all your neighbors.

With EVs, the concern is primarily at a hyperlocal level, for example, if numerous households served by the same transformer all charge their vehicles at the same, inopportune (for the grid) times. That’s what time-of-use rates try to avoid.

So, if you end up getting an EV (I personally recommend it), contact your electric co-op. They’d appreciate the information and can let you know about any rate, program or incentive offerings that might be relevant and help you save even more.