Electric cars hit the road

Oct 16 - North County Times

Escondido resident Joseph Gottlieb got his plug-in electric car in June, and he hasn't looked back.

"It's great," he said in a phone interview Wednesday from his Nissan Leaf. "I really haven't had any problems with it. It runs and drives just like a regular car."

By most accounts, this recent wave of plug-in electric cars has been a resounding success. Dealers sell them quickly and report high customer satisfaction, while utilities say they're getting frequent requests for information about how to get chargers and what rate to sign up for.

The utility officials said they haven't run into major snags. If they can persuade customers to charge at night, they're ready to absorb hundreds of thousands of plug-in electric vehicles with minimal upgrades to the electric grid.

The first Leaf rolled into San Diego in December, and the mostly electric Chevy Volt followed soon after. The Leaf retails for $35,000, but with state and federal subsidies can cost $23,000. The Volt costs $40,000, and with federal tax breaks -- because of its gas-charging system, it's not eligible for California's subsidy -- costs around $33,000. Officials from San Diego Gas & Electric Co. estimate 800 electric vehicles are on San Diego County roads, and about 1,000 in Southern California Edison's territory, which includes Southwest Riverside County. Utilities expect the number of cars to rise rapidly in coming years, as at least five more automakers roll out plug-in models.

"Every number I've projected has been under," said Jim Avery, SDG&E's senior vice president for power supply. "I projected 1,000 -- by end of this year, we could have as many as 1,300 or 1,400."

With new plug-in models expected this year and next from Ford, Toyota and others, SDG&E's top forecast projects 250,000 plug-in electric cars by 2020, Avery said.

Edison officials said the number of cars in their territory was smaller than they anticipated, partly because of production problems stemming from an earthquake in Japan in March.

"In terms of interest, it's exceeded my expectations, especially in cities," said Bob Graham, manager of external engagement for Edison's plug-in vehicle program.

Certainly, dealers are seeing enthusiasm.

"I sold 250 cars this year -- that's like two extra months for me," said Leon Kamins, general manager for Mossy Nissan in San Diego, and the man who oversees electric vehicle sales for all six of the company's branches.

Most Leaf buyers reserved the cars months in advance, but about 10 percent of reservations fall through, Kamins said. Those cars come to dealers for sale, and Kamins said he sells them in fewer than three days. Regular cars sit on the lot for 30 to 45 days.

"People are crazy about the car who have it," he said. "People come in every day asking for them; we can't keep any in the lots."

Gottlieb, who is also president of the Electric Vehicle Association of San Diego, said the new plug-in cars have been a hit among his friends and fellow association members.

"Overall, it's a very good ride," he said. "Its acceleration is exceptional for a small car like this. It's a step above peppy."

SDG&E's Avery, who has a Leaf, said he spends $20 to $25 a month on electricity for the car, replacing $250 in gas expenses, and Gottlieb agreed with those figures.

Gottlieb said he easily makes his 54-mile round-trip commute on a charge, with a little to spare -- and if he's careful, he can hit the 100-mile maximum range that Nissan claims. But he must change his driving style to achieve that range.

"I drive it like a granny," he said. "I'm in the right lane on the highway driving 60 mph, trying to conserve energy. "

He added later, "Other members drive it like a regular car. They get a 60-mile range, and that's it. Those folks are not as happy; they'd like to get more miles out of it. As more charging stations come online, that problem goes away for them."

Only a few public charging stations exist in San Diego or Riverside counties, but a federal grant run by Arizona-based ECOtality will pay for some businesses to have them installed in coming months.

In the meantime, Leaf, Volt, and Ford Tesla owners must charge at home -- preferably at night, as far as the utilities are concerned.

At night, people are sleeping, offices and most factories are dark, and night temperatures are cooler, reducing the need for air conditioning. That leaves Edison and SDG&E with a lot of extra generation capacity available for charging electric cars.

To encourage consumers to charge at night, the utilities have created several optional electricity rate plans that charge customers as much as 6 cents a kilowatt-hour in the middle of the night (the rate jumps to 38 cents at midday).

Avery and Graham both said their customers are opting into those systems and doing their charging at night.

But no one knows how things will change when businesses start offering charging during the day.

"We could cover twice the load we have today with little or no impact on the grid, if people charge at night," Avery said. "If all those people wanted to charge during the day, that would have a devastating impact on the grid."

Call staff writer Eric Wolff at 760-303-1927 or follow him on Twitter at ericwolff.

___

Visit the North County Times (Escondido, Calif.) at www.nctimes.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services