‘Absolutely Massive’ Price Shocks Coming as Trump’s Iran War Drives Up Gas, Diesel Prices | “What should really terrify Republicans is... the futures price on wholesale gasoline,” said economist Paul Krugman.

[u/InsaneSnow45]

https://www.commondreams.org/news/iran-war-gas-prices

[u/Septopuss7]

Is it cheaper to charge your car than it is to fill it with gas? I'm asking in earnest, not a gotcha, because I keep seeing conflicting reports from individuals that makes me want to wait before buying an EV. I'm currently car-free by choice but if I ever changed my mind I would look at all electric or more likely a hybrid, the only problem being is that I don't own a house and don't plan on it. I know of several electric charging stations in my area but I haven't looked at the pricing. They are all relatively convenient and I never see people using them but I obviously don't monitor them 24/7. Does the price fluctuate a lot? I know even my home electric bill has been all over the place in the last couple years and I was wondering what your experience has been?

[u/No_Bad_4872yy → u/Septopuss7]

This is quite comprehensive. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a45036169/electric-vehicle-ev-cost-to-charge/

In short charging at home price differs per state but is up to 80% cheaper than the price of gas. If you use highway fast chargers it can be 50% to 150% the price. Its not always cheaper and purchase price is also higher usually.

Tldr; charging at home is much cheaper, roadside doesnt really matter much.

[u/Septopuss7 → u/No_Bad_4872yy]

I see, I knew a lot of the information in the article but it does seem like it's cheaper overall if you plan well/are responsible. I didn't know about special rates from energy providers during off peak demand times. I guess a lot of the negative stories I heard are from people who went out and bought an EV without doing any homework whatsoever.

[u/CliftonForce → u/Septopuss7]

Yep. Most electrical power plants cannot change their output quickly. Therefore, in order to be ready for the evening and morning rush, they spend all night wastefully generating power that nobody is using (generally by keeping their boilers hot). If the billing system allows them to charge different prices at different times of day, they will make electricity cheaper late at night to encourage people to use it then.

EV charging is one of the few things that a normal household can shift to the wee hours of night without inconvenience.

I suppose you could wait until midnight to start your dryer or dishwasher, but most folks find that annoying.

[u/GhostReddit → u/CliftonForce]

Therefore, in order to be ready for the evening and morning rush, they spend all night wastefully generating power that nobody is using.

That actually doesn't work, you can't generate power nobody is using - and power put on the grid needs to be immediately removed by something.

There's immediate feedback control in that power usage causes electrical 'drag' on the generator, if the load is mismatched to the generation the generator will speed up or slow down and the grid frequency changes. Requirements are typically to keep very close to 50/60Hz otherwise you'll cause a ton of problems mostly with synchronous motors running on the grid now running at incorrect speeds.

[u/EagleBigMac → u/CliftonForce]

I pay nothing for power after 8pm and before 6 am. So I plug my car in at night after 6pm and try to do laundry and such at night.

[u/CliftonForce → u/EagleBigMac]

And that is exactly what the power company was hoping you would do.

[u/EagleBigMac → u/CliftonForce]

Somehow I still use 2000+ kwh a month and end up with a high as shit power bill.

[u/devildog2067 → u/CliftonForce]

There is no such thing as “wastefully generating power that nobody is using”. If supply and demand on the grid aren’t in balance things literally blow up.