California electricity pricing threatens plug-in hybrid affordability
California has been targeted as an early adopter market for plug-in hybrid vehicles, such as the Chevrolet Volt. Yet a study released Thursday said the price of recharging those vehicles may make them less economical to operate than traditional hybrids.
California utilities tier electricity pricing, so heavier users pay higher rates. The study said most Californians reach the most expensive tier of electricity pricing each month.
"The objective of a tiered pricing system is to discourage consumption," said study author, Wally Tyner, Purdue University's James and Lois Ackerman Professor of Agricultural Economics. "It's meant to get you to think about turning off your lights and conserving electricity. In California, the unintended consequence is that plug-in hybrid cars won't be economical under this system."
According to Tyner, adding a plug-in hybrid to a household increases its average electricity use almost 60%. In California, most of that increase would be charged at the highest rate, he said. Californians pay an average of 14.42 cents per kilowatt hour, or 35% more than the national average, Tyner said.
Tyner advocates time-of-use pricing, which charges electricity users based on the time they take electricity from the grid. Since most electric vehicle owners will charge their vehicles at home and at night, when rates are lowest, Tyner said time-of-use pricing would make electric vehicles more economical.
Tyner's study found that without time-of-use pricing, the Toyota Prius is more economical to operate than the Chevrolet Volt. Oil prices would need to rise to between $171 and $254 per barrel to offset the price premium on the Volt, for both the car itself and the electricity needed to charge it.
In Los Angeles, the Department of Water and Power offers three options for EV home charging. Customers can install a time-of-use meter for their EVs, while keeping the rest of their household on a regular meter that charges standard residential rates. This system discounts the price of electricity 2.5 cents per kilowatt-hour for night and weekend charging.
They can also convert their entire household to a time-of-use meter and receive the 2.5 cents per kilowatt-hour discount on a block of energy up to 500 kilowatt-hours for night and weekend use. Or they can keep their existing meter and charge their car, subject to the existing three-tier rate structure.
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-- Susan Carpenter
Photo: Volkswagen AG Blue-E Motion concept car. Credit: Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg
Native Angeleno has it exactly right.
Posted by: Get Planted | January 19, 2011 at 12:11 AM
Why all the whining about electricity rates. Check out how much the rest of the world pays at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_pricing
We are absolutely spoiled, which doesn't stop a bunch of spoiled brats from complaining.
Posted by: Get Planted | January 19, 2011 at 12:07 AM
Kevin, Angela Birch, Steve, and others have it right. The beauty of electric vehicles is that they motivate people, communities, and government agencies to install solar-powred electric vehicle recharging stations like Santa Monica did many years ago.
In sunlight-rich areas like Southern California these installations pay for themselves within a reasonable amount of time and offer a truly practical alternative to non-renewable polluting energy sources.
Posted by: Get Planted | January 18, 2011 at 11:56 PM
Green Gone Wrong
What this election should have been for California is a therapeutic intervention to change its addiction to big government. Sadly, the election results will read like an obituary of failed progressive political policies and has beens. The national political trajectory is changed with this election; and it will leave California behind as a failed state.
California has wiped out on the conservative wave election. This confirms California's status as a failed state under the oppression of militant immigrant, labor and green special interests. The once "Golden State" is broke and broken.
Continue reading on Examiner.com: California election postmortem: No progress - Los Angeles Ecopolitics | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/ecopolitics-in-los-angeles/california-election-postmortem-no-progress#ixzz1BJYUgsnh
Posted by: Paul Taylor Examiner | January 17, 2011 at 09:25 AM
The electric car won't progress to replace the internal combustion engine unless the prioritization on warmongering for oil is reallocated and its vast expenditures, lost to all but the "defense" industry---which is why it isn't---could be plunked instead into the gathering of the trillions of dollars of sunshine and wind we are wasting. The electricity now lost to war, which is required to provide the country with more than three times the amount the country currently uses, could then go to fund the improvement of the electric fuel-cell battery AND provide Americans with the enormous extra flow of cheap electricity that could literally make the juicing of the electric car too cheap to meter.
Unlike the weaponry which is all we export any more, we could then flood the world with Made in the USA wind and solar-generated automobiles, put people back to work constructing them, and fabulously lower the greenhouse gases some duplicitously pretend is not causing the poles to melt and oceans to rise.
That's a win-win-win-win we are losing-losing-losing-losing due to the lack of public pressure on our war-wasteful government to take charge and build a positive future FOR A CHANGE. And to think California could lead the way to boot, which would alleviate all those taxes you are going to have to pay.
Posted by: Native Angeleno | January 16, 2011 at 04:38 PM
The only way to beat the system is to get a solar power system installed, devoted to charging your electric car. Then you would ride for free. Other than that, I don't know. I was under the impression that electric cars were more economical than gas powered cars, but now I can't tell if it that is true or not.
Posted by: Kevin | January 16, 2011 at 03:05 PM
Angela Birch wrote "scoogy, actually it is free if you have a solar collection system. Once you have paid back the capital investment the fuel is free. Forever."
Not quite. Most people consider the life time of a solar system to be 10 or 25 years. During that time routine maintenance is required to keep the running.
Tax advantages and incentives skew the equations but for companies like DWP that have to pay for everything PV systems are considerably more expensive for power produced over the lifetime of the equipment than other forms of electric power generation. Note that excuse for DWP rates expected to rise by 8% per year for at least 5 years.
Solar has a lot of advantages but free is not one of them.
Posted by: jsa26 | January 16, 2011 at 12:15 PM
Southern California Edison has options to reduce the rate for electric vehicle charging, including separate meters and time of use pricing. The sad fact, though, is that even with those electric vehicle rates, electricity prices are still higher than many areas of the country pay for general household electricity. Californians have been far to complacent regarding energy prices, and have let the greedy California state government trample over them for decades. Why people here just accept high energy prices, including gasoline is beyond me.
Posted by: Michael | January 16, 2011 at 10:19 AM
"The objective of a tiered pricing system is to discourage consumption,"
Why?
Posted by: Brian | January 16, 2011 at 07:34 AM
what is the barrier to simply adjusting the tiers for households that can prove ownership of an EV, at least in the short term? tiers are already at least somewhat specific to household size (a 1-bedroom apartment has a different tier structure than a 4-bedroom detached house). if we really want EVs in the state, we have to price them right.
Posted by: Al | January 15, 2011 at 03:09 PM
Not to discount your point AnnS but can you name one private sector job where pay is based on the cost of housing?
Posted by: jsa26 | January 15, 2011 at 02:41 PM
scoogy, actually it is free if you have a solar collection system. Once you have paid back the capital investment the fuel is free. Forever.
Posted by: Angela Birch | January 15, 2011 at 01:13 PM
RE: Good idea Tracy, but compare DWP salaries with the Electrician's union pay scale in Indiana and you'll see part of the problem.
Posted by: jsa26 |
___
COmpare the cost of housing in California to Indiana (land of the double wides and other cheap housing) and you will see why those living in California need far higher incomes to afford housing.
Posted by: AnnS | January 15, 2011 at 11:01 AM
It is in reality even worse than you are suggesting. Here in Glendale I pay an average 18c per kWh, and I am a low volume electricity user. Glendale is planning to install "smart meters" so that they can jack up peak rates higher still. Electric cars? You can keep them, at least until gas gets to $6 a gallon.
Peter Marx
Posted by: Peter Marx | January 15, 2011 at 09:22 AM
Great time to light up your roof top solar electric system!
Posted by: Barry L. Friedberg, M.D. | January 15, 2011 at 08:42 AM
once you have to many human beings in a finite place there are no answers. 7 billion and counting. Get ready for solutions to fall under the weight of all the humanity that we have to care for and give ' a life ' to. When there are to many goats on catalina island, what do we do. We thin the herd to PRESERVE the enviroment. Why do we not do something like this with human beings ( humanely ). Now its up to you to figure out what this has to do with electric car answer not really being an answer. I believe managing human population is the answer to most of our problems. Easier said than done, I know. Everyone wants their children and no politician running on 'you can't have children' will ever win.
WE'RE SCREWED/ UNLESS???
Posted by: Zandar the rebel alien | January 15, 2011 at 08:02 AM
With a solar array on your home, you would be sitting pretty.
Posted by: Steve | January 15, 2011 at 07:59 AM
It's about time people figured out that electricity isn't free. In fact it is a very inefficient source of energy, since half of all power generated is lost while traveling through the transmission lines.
Posted by: scoogy | January 15, 2011 at 06:42 AM
Everything in California threatens affordability. That is why the state is broke and may soon default. People will start to leave only when the great weather and excellent welfare system go away.
Posted by: confussedd | January 15, 2011 at 06:21 AM
Good idea Tracy, but compare DWP salaries with the Electrician's union pay scale in Indiana and you'll see part of the problem.
Posted by: jsa26 | January 14, 2011 at 08:00 PM
And what is the Home Charger installation fee w/o any subsidies or incentives???
Posted by: J.K. | January 14, 2011 at 05:44 PM
This article is under-researched. I know that DWP rates are much lower than SC Edison rates, so maybe a 2.5 cent discount is all you can expect.
In the much larger and much hotter SC Edison territory, you can have a separate meter installed, and if you charge your car anytime except between noon to 9pm, you get a rate of about 12 cents per kWh, which is the lowest you'll EVER see in California for a non-municipal utility. (Rate code TOU-EV-1)
At this price, compared to a car getting 29 mpg at $3.00 per gallon, you'd save about two thirds in fuel costs, according to codasutomotive.com
You can also get a combined home/charging meter with time-of-use pricing, but anyone who uses air conditioning and/or a pool pump can't effectively use this kind of plan.
I'll leave it to Ms Carpenter to do the similar reseach on SDG&E and PG&E.
Posted by: Inland Emperor | January 14, 2011 at 04:10 PM
The problem is that tiered levels are set so low. I've converted all 46 lights in my house to CFL. I use LEDs where possible... and I'm still hitting the 40-cents top tier every month. I think the only time I ever dropped below that was the month I was on vacation. Our energy rates in CA are simply OUTRAGEOUS!
If all the rest of the US pays so much less than we do, what's up? I'd sure like to see an investigative story on the -real- reason our rates are so high.
How about it LAT?
Posted by: Tracy Valleau | January 14, 2011 at 01:17 PM