Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

SeaworthinessLeft88 t1_jdvhbr6 wrote

Hey, glad to see that your ban has been reversed and you’re back to posting here.

I own a CCS EV myself, and I haven’t yet tried to charge at a L3. I have an L2 at home that pretty much meets all of my charging needs. But taking my EV on the road does give me a lot of pause. Not really in MA, which does have a relatively extensive charging network (even if some are overpriced or nonfunctional, I feel I could find an L3 in a pinch). But places like NH are complete EV charging deserts. There are pretty much no charging options in the lakes or white mountain regions at all.

Did the reporting get any comments from state politicians on any plans to lower the costs of both EV charging/investment and lowering the cost of electricity in general in MA? I feel like electricity costs in NE are more of a pressing issue than EV charging, and I really haven’t heard any solutions being discussed considering how pressing the issue is for most residents.

6

bostonglobe OP t1_jdvigft wrote

We unfortunately didn't get any response from state politicians but based on the feedback we've been getting from this article I'm sure there will be a follow up story (or several follow up stories).

Thanks for your feedback. This is super helpful! I'll be sure to share your questions with our newsroom when pitching specific angles for our next EV piece.

We also just launched our NH bureau today and they're looking for stories to cover so I'll put this on their radar.

7

oneMadRssn t1_jdw0afv wrote

Look at this way. In terms of cost per mile, the public chargers are priced to be about the same as gas. But ICE cars cannot charge at home, whereas EVs can.

Also, MA is a bit of an outlier here due to our crazy high electricity prices. On a national average, EVs make more sense.

Depending on the efficiency of a particular EV, routine driving (i.e., our and about within an hour of your home) saves an EV drivers hundreds of dollars compared to the cost of gas. That savings can be used to rent an ICE vehicle as needed for long trips. As long as it's not done often, I would still come out far ahead.

Take these real numbers for example:

  • A good EV gets roughly 4mi/kwh. Some Tesla's get more, some bigger truck EVs get less.
  • Average MPG in the US right now is 25mpg.
  • Regular gas is roughly $3.50/gal right now.
  • So to drive 100 miles would use 4 gallons, which would cost $14.
  • For an EV to beat that, the cost of electricity has to be less than $0.56/kwh.
  • Average electricity costs is $0.15/kwh (I know I know, MA is way higher).
  • Driving 10,000mi/yr in an ICE vehicle would use 400gal and cost $1,400.
  • Driving 10,000mi/yr in an EV would use 2,500kwh and cost $375.
  • The net difference is a savings of $1,025/yr.
  • Looking at some non-airport car rentals nearby, I can get a 2 week-long rentals of a fullsize SUV and a several tanks of gas, and still have some savings left over.
4