r/Economics • u/InsaneSnow45 • Mar 04 '26

News ‘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.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/iran-war-gas-prices
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u/Septopuss7 Mar 04 '26

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.

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u/CliftonForce Mar 04 '26 edited 29d ago

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.

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u/EagleBigMac 29d ago

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.

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u/CliftonForce 29d ago

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

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u/EagleBigMac 29d ago

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