Commentaries at the San Antonio Report provide space for our community to share perspectives and offer solutions to pressing local issues. The views expressed in this commentary belong to the author alone.
Earlier this month, the US Department of Transportation re-released $3 billion in funding for electric vehicle fast charging stations. This funding, which had previously been released as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, was paused back in February of this year. Almost $298 million of those unobligated funds are allocated for distribution in Texas.
Building out electric vehicle fast charging stations is important to help our country keep up with technology that can help drive down electricity prices and stabilize our electricity grid while reducing transportation fuel costs and improving air quality.
In order to provide reliable electricity, electric utilities must build infrastructure to serve their highest peak demand. However, electricity grids frequently operate at half this capacity or less. If utilities can sell more electricity during times of low demand, they can spread out their infrastructure costs and reduce the price you pay per kilowatt hour of electricity.
Electric vehicles can play the role of a manageable electricity load that helps fill gaps during lower electricity demand. It doesn’t matter what time of day or day of the week you charge your electric vehicle, as long as your vehicle’s battery is charged enough for you to drive wherever you want to go that week.
Because of this, even if you choose not to own an electric vehicle, having a neighbor who owns one can help lower the cost of your electricity bill. In fact, in a 2024 shareholder update, Pacific Gas and Electric recently announced that, with higher electric vehicle adoption, PG&E expects to be able to reduce their electricity prices by two to three percent.
CPS Energy also recognizes the benefits that electric vehicles offer as a manageable electricity load. That is why they offer $10 off each monthly bill if you do not charge your electric vehicle during their high demand period of 4 pm to 10 pm. And for those who worry that you may forget to charge and then need to plug in during peak demand hours, CPS Energy allows you up to two cheat days per month while still qualifying for this incentive.
Even before a monthly utility bill discount, you can save money on your vehicle fuel bill by driving an electric vehicle. Electric vehicles are inherently more efficient than gasoline powered vehicles, and electricity costs far less than gasoline. For instance, you could drive a new Chevy Equinox EV for 300 miles for the same cost of 4 gallons of regular gas in San Antonio. If you want to compare how far you can drive your current vehicle on one gallon of gas to the distance you could drive any model of electric vehicle, try using this EV savings calculator.
Electric vehicles also help contribute to a more stable electricity grid. More and more electric vehicles are being manufactured with bi-directional charging capability. With bi-directional charging, in addition to charging your car in your garage, you can also transfer electricity from your vehicle’s battery to power your entire home when there is high demand on the grid and wholesale electricity prices are spiking. Powering your home off your vehicle battery during critical times reduces the demand on both your electric utility and the electricity grid. You can also power your home for several days during a blackout. Soon that same technology will be able to be used to not only power your home, but to also sell electricity back onto the grid at critical times, helping power your neighbor’s homes as well.
Owning an electric vehicle offers significant cost savings from both lower maintenance costs and lower fuel costs. By charging primarily at home, Texans can expect to save $1,213 on average per year on fuel costs as compared to gasoline vehicle drivers. However, not everyone can charge at home. For instance, many apartment buildings do not offer electric vehicle chargers. This is an access problem that we need to continue to work on.
You can also reap savings on the purchase of an electric vehicle if you buy before September 30. Federal tax credits of up to $7,500 for new electric vehicles and up to $4,000 for used electric vehicles will expire after that date. And now that the federal government is re-releasing funds to build out electric vehicle fast charging stations, you can buy with confidence knowing that it will soon be much easier to fast charge your vehicle while on road trips across Texas.
Finally, electric vehicles have no tailpipe, so there are no emissions that come directly from the vehicle. There are still some emissions associated with the electricity that powers electric vehicles, but our electricity grid is getting cleaner every year. In fact, solar and wind generation powered over 40% of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ electricity generation through June.
The other good news is that my organization, Texas EV Education Project, has been preparing for the re-release of electric vehicle charging station funding. Earlier this year, Texas EV Education Project along with the Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (the region’s transportation planning agency) hosted workshops with community members to get input on where their tax dollars should be invested to build charging stations.
We look forward to providing input to TxDOT on how to make it more convenient to charge electric vehicles in the San Antonio metro area. Higher electric vehicle adoption benefits all of us, even if you choose not to drive one.
