Posted on 01/14/2011 9:14:22 AM PST by NormsRevenge
Californians may end up paying the highest electricity rates in the country to charge their electric vehicles, a new study says.
The state's tiered rate system, in which customers are charged higher rates as they use more electricity, could make plug-in hybrid and battery-powered vehicles more costly to own, according to a Purdue University study.
The study was unveiled as the first of the electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles are reaching consumers. Two vehicles, the all-electric Nissan Leaf and the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt, started being delivered to their first customers last month.
Electric-car makers and utilities said most owners will probably charge their vehicles at night when the rates are lower. But because of the tiered rate system, their electricity bills will still probably be high.
California households pay steeper rates for their electricity compared with other states — about 35% more than the national average, according to the study.
"The tiered system was put in because California wanted to be green and discourage electricity consumption," said Wally Tyner, an energy economist and lead researcher on the study. "The unintended consequence is that it also discourages electric vehicles."
A plug-in hybrid Volt would increase the average household's electrical usage 60%, the study said. Although the study didn't explicitly examine all-electric vehicles such as the Leaf, "the same principle would apply," Tyner said.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
SRP owns 15.5% of PVNGS, California utilities own 27.4%.
My son said something in his class about coal burning power plants supplying electricity for cars. That kind of made the greenie teacher stop and think for a minute before he glared at him.
More unintended consequences.......
Intermittently.
Or, with a backup generator. :-)
Outragous! Residential rates around here, including all fees and charges, are around 9.5 cents per KWH. If the tree-hugging commie, eco-fascists in your state were run off, you, too, could enjoy rates near the national average.
“The tiered system was put in because California wanted to be green and discourage electricity consumption,” said Wally Tyner, an energy economist and lead researcher on the study. “The unintended consequence is that it also discourages electric vehicles.”
Well first off.....that is a lie.The tiered system was put in to pay for the billions of dollars that the state used to bail out the utility companies. The rates were supposed to go back down after the bill was paid.
http://articles.sfgate.com/2001-03-25/news/17589330_1_power-bills-rate-system-pg-e
http://articles.latimes.com/2001/jun/20/local/me-12632
Another article on it. Someone needs to check and see when these loans will be pd for. I did yrs ago but forget now when they told me they would be paid off.
I came to CA in 1987 to help restart the Rancho Seco Nuclear plant near Sacramento.
Then in June 1989 while at 100% power the voters of that fine state, on a ballot initiative; asked for the plant to be shut down.
The media basically did all they could to make the plant operator look bad, over things like purchasing uniforms for staff.
So CA voters got what they wanted.
I finally left the state for a much more sane Colorado in 2008.
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