My electric comes in at about $0.16 per kWh. Not sure where that would go if I had an EV. The car I drive averages about 27 mpg, so that's about $135/month (at 3.65/gal).
Doing a rough calculation, my best case electricity cost for a Leaf would be about $35/month (10 charges) and the Volt (electric use only, 25 charges) would be about $48/month. These numbers will increase significantly in the coldest and hottest months (one source observed that the Leaf's range dropped from 100 to 20 miles on very cold days).
So, if I switched to either of these EV options, yes, I would save money, as much as $100/month, but in very hot or cold weather, that advantage could drop down significantly.
Would I switch to save that much money? Not on your life.
The convenience of being able to get a "full charge" in 10 minutes is worth every penny of the extra money I spend on gas.
In many parts of the country you can get a time-of-use electricity plan that offers discounts for night and weekends. Here in Houston, there is a plan that offers free electricity between 8 pm and 8 am and all day during the weekend, and another that offers half-price electricity between 8 pm and noon the next day. In exchange you pay a couple cents extra per kWh for daytime electricity.
These plans are worth it for electric companies because it is cheaper for them to provide electricity during low-demand periods. As an aside, those that worry that electric cars will stress the power grid are mistaken because nearly all charging will occur during low-demand periods.
Even if you didn't have an electric car, these plans might be worth it for people whose homes are unoccupied during the day. However, if you did have an electric car, it would definitely be worth it.
“The convenience of being able to get a “full charge” in 10 minutes is worth every penny of the extra money I spend on gas.”
Yea, that is why I recommend the Chevy Volt to people over the Nissan Leaf since it has a gasoline engine as well. Also, don't forget the day-to-day convenience of not having to visit the gas station since you can “refuel” simply by plugging in when you get home in the evening. If you only go on long trips a couple times a year, you might end up only visiting the gas station a couple times a year.