One of the most asked questions about electric cars is how much you can save by buying one. The answer is eye-opening. Switching from gasoline to electricity can shave a driver's fuel bill by as much as 82 per cent.
In B.C., the residential cost of a kilowatt hour of power is only 8.3 cents, the third-lowest in Canada.
Driving a Nissan Leaf for 20,000 kilometres (45 per cent highway and 55 per cent city) - a year's worth of driving - will use approximately $351 worth of electricity.
The cost to travel the same distance in a CVT automatic transmissionequipped Nissan Versa (built on the same platform as the Leaf) would be $1,956 (based on $1.25/litre gasoline).
How about switching to hybrids?
A gasoline-electric hybrid is good, but still a long way from a pure electric. Using the same scenario, the owner of a Toyota Prius will have a $1,173 gas bill. The Leaf is still 70 per cent cheaper to run.
These calculations are based on gasoline prices remaining constant over the year, which is unlikely. Electricity rates, on the other hand, are regulated by individual provinces in most of Canada.
Among industrialized countries, Canada's electricity rates are second only to Mexico's.
It costs more than 22 cents per kilowatt hour in New York City and more than 30 cents a kilowatt hour in Italy.
But saving money is only half the story. In 2009, more than 75 per cent of Canada's electricity came from non-emitting sources, compared with 30 per cent in the U.S., according to a 2009 Canadian Electricity Association report.
In B.C., more than 93 per cent of our electricity is derived from green and renewable power such as hydro generation.
In the U.S., only 10 per cent of power generation is green. An overwhelming 88 per cent of its electricity comes from burning coal, natural gas and nuclear generation.
Apart from the financial savings, the environmental benefits of electric vehicles are even more compelling.
The Leaf, like all electric vehicles, produces no greenhouse gas. The Versa, on the other hand, will end up spewing 3.7 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere after travelling 20,000 km, or 184 grams per kilometre. The Prius produced 2.2 tonnes of tailpipe CO2 - 110 grams per kilometre.
