Gas Versus eGallon Cost Comparison

November 25, 2015

Did you know that there is a way to compare the average cost of driving an electric vehicle anywhere in the nation? Well, the US Department of Energy (DOE) created a way to compare the average cost of gas, with all the fuel taxes included, with the average cost of an eGallon of electricity. Check it out: http://energy.gov/articles/egallon-how-much-cheaper-it-drive-electricity. The calculator lets you pick your state and then compares the prices.  US DOE estimates that, on average, it costs about half as much to drive an electric vehicle as it does to drive a gas-powered one.

US DOE created the eGallon to help people understand the costs of driving electric vehicles. The eGallon is the cost of fueling an electric vehicle compared to a similar gas-powered vehicle. If you are curious about the math, here’s a link: http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2013/06/f1/eGallon-methodology-final.pdf.

The interesting thing is that the cost of gas (and other fuels) includes taxes that go to pay for transportation needs like bridges, highways, guardrails, and striping while taxes collected on electricity aren’t used to help with transportation needs. So, that’s why a road usage charge becomes important. Collecting a small amount for each mile driven by every electric vehicle could help pay for our transportation infrastructure. And that is what OReGO is all about … test driving the concept to see how it might work.