There are a lot of perks to owning and driving an electric vehicle in California. PG&E customers who own an electric vehicle are eligible for special time-of-use plans rather than tiered (based on total use) plans.  This can drop the cost of electricity from almost $0.50 a KWatt to $0.10 a KWatt if you charge your car at the optimal times.

So what does this all mean.  Most electric cars can get around 3 miles to the KWatt.  My Kia Soul EV gets between 3.3 and 3.5 miles/ KW and the Tesla gets between 2.5 and 3.1 miles/KW.  If you drive faster on the highway or start and stop quickly your mileage may vary.  An eGallon is considered to be 10KWatts so that means your car will go anywhere from 25-35 Miles/eGallon.

The U.S. Energy Department has created a website to determine how much an eGallon,or 10 KW costs which is felt to be about the cost of fueling a vehicle with electricity compared to a similar vehicle that runs on gasoline. In California, an eGallon is currently about $1.75, but vehicles charged on PG&E’s electric vehicle rate plan during off-peak hours can be refueled for the equivalent of around $1 per eGallon.

If you own an electric car and you are a PG&E Customer you can choose between the EV-A and EV-B rates.  The EV-B is somewhat more complicated.

The takeaway is that you can save quite a bit of money if you can charge your car overnight from 11p-7a. There are extended hours on weekends and holidays and rates change during the winter when rates are lower.  Most, if not all, of the vehicles on the market have a feature that will allow you to set the hours you charge your vehicle.

Source: Electric Vehicles – Explore the Fundamentals | PG&E