EV Myths #1 We cannot afford the power bills! 

Have you ever heard of this one?  “Electric vehicles are way too expensive to charge and will make your home power bill explode!” 

There is some truth to that statement, after all you are using more home electricity to run an EV, but the reality is much better. 

Over 90% of EV owners charge their car at home, overnight, and pay the BC Hydro rate (for simplicity we will use a combined rate of 12 cents per kilowatt hour) and the average EV consumes 15 kwh for every 100 km of travel.  That means 100 km costs you $1.80.  That same travel in the average BC vehicle, which burns 8.6 liters of gasoline at today’s price of about $2.00, will cost you $17.20.  So, your EV will drive you for 100 kms for the price your neighbour pays to go just 10 kms. 

Using your EV over the Canadian average annual distance (15,000 km) will cost you about $270 while your neighbour will spend $2580 in just gas, and another $200 in oil changes. That really adds up over the years. 

“But wait (I hear someone say), what if you are charging at one of the public direct current fast chargers (DCFC) that are popping up everywhere? Won’t that cost more than gas?” 

Well, the prices there can range from 24 cents to 40 cents a kWh..  Taking the higher number would mean your cost for that same 15 kwh of energy would cost you $6.  In fact, the price per kwh would need to be $1.15 to get to the price of gas.   

So, this myth with its kernel of truth, is BUSTED.  See you next time…. 

Victoria Electric Vehicle Association- Challenging Perceptions and Providing Context, since 2011.