Electric vehicle drivers have saved Americans billions of dollars on their electric bills — and that’s only the beginning, according to recent studies.
Synapse Energy Economics took a look at how much owners of EVs paid for electricity compared to the costs of providing that power, such as distribution and transmission costs. Between 2011 and 2021, electric car drivers in the U.S. contributed $3.12 billion more than their associated costs, according to Synapse, which drove down monthly rates for “all customers.”
And after Synapse adjusted its analysis to account for utility costs spent on EV programs, there was a net revenue gain of $2.44 billion. Synapse’s report was commissioned by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a New York-based environmental advocacy group.
The vast majority of all revenue generated by EV charging comes from drivers in the western U.S., primarily because of California’s rapid adoption of the technology. As of 2022, the 1.1 million EVs registered in California accounted for 37% of all electric cars in the U.S., according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
In some areas, including California, utility customers are charged time-of-use rates, which charges them different amounts for electricity depending on the time of day (like how train tickets cost more or less for “peak” or “non-peak” trips). Those rates are designed to ensure that charging is encouraged at times when total demand for electricity is low. For example, in Alameda, California, EV owners have to pay more between 5 p.m and 9 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays than they do at other times.
A 2019 report — published by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Pacific Gas & Electric, and sponsored by the NRDC — found that charging electric cars at off-peak times could allow the national grid to accommodate all U.S. homes using EVs without upgrading much of the distribution system.
The Electric Power Research Institute published a joint report with the NRDC on Wednesday that found EV efficiency improvements could reduce consumer costs by more than $200 billion annually by 2050 — as long as vehicle costs remained roughly unchanged. The report also found that advancements in EV technology could lower electricity demand by hundreds of terawatt-hours. For context, the U.S. consumed about 4,000 terawatt hours in 2022.
More efficient battery technology could also lessen the strain on supply chains by reducing the amount of raw materials necessary for production. Demand for lithium, a key component in most EV batteries, far outweighs current supplies and is expected to surge by 2030.
“Vehicle electrification is a critical strategy for meeting clean air and safe climate goals,” Luke Tonachel, a NRDC transportation strategist, said in a statement. “If we do it most effectively and efficiently, we can add to the environmental benefits by minimizing power demand from electric vehicles, right sizing the electrical grid and charging infrastructure, and minimizing battery materials.”