The electric power industry is focusing on new ways to use energy more efficiently—both with our vehicles and in our homes and businesses. Electric companies are leading a technological revolution that will redefine how they generate and deliver electricity, and how customers use it. EEI continues its efforts to encourage greater investment in these technologies and to help promote energy efficiency and innovative consumer products and services.
- Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs)
Emerging electric transportation technologies will be part of the solution to helping our country become more energy independent. PHEVs, for example, will one day use the electric grid to charge their batteries, instead of using gasoline. This will reduce demand for foreign oil in our country.
- Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)/Smart Grid
AMI, along with new rate designs, will provide consumers with the ability to use electricity more efficiently and provide utilities with the ability to detect problems on their systems and operate them more efficiently—ultimately improving reliability and saving money for consumers.
PHEVs
America’s dependence on foreign oil, coupled with fluctuating gasoline prices and growing environmental concerns, is driving nationwide demand for cleaner, more-efficient alternatives to traditional gasoline-burning vehicles. PHEVs are the next-generation of hybrids, and are expected to be available commercially as early as 2010.
PHEVs will help to reduce national oil consumption, stabilize fuel oil costs, improve environmental quality, extend savings to consumers, and strengthen national security.
Reduced Fuel Consumption
PHEVs are capable of travelling up to 40 miles in electric-only mode, and can be “plugged in” to a standard household electrical outlet to recharge their batteries. Household vehicles travel an average of 32 miles a day, meaning that the majority of PHEVs could operate on battery power—with minimal gasoline usage—to meet the daily needs of most drivers.
According to a report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, a PHEV with an electric-only range of 20 miles could reduce fuel use by about one-third compared to a current hybrid.
The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) estimates that the same PHEV could reduce fuel consumption by about 60 percent compared to non-hybrid vehicles.
Consumer Savings
A PHEV will run on the gasoline equivalent of roughly 75 cents per gallon at today’s electricity prices.
Environmental Benefits
Current PHEVs, on average, produce just one-third of the greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted by traditional, gasoline-fueled vehicles. According to a joint study by EPRI and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), PHEVs have the potential to reduce cumulative U.S. GHG emissions by as much as 10.3 billion tons from 2010 to 2050.
Widespread adoption of PHEVs could reduce GHG emissions from vehicles by more than 450 million metric tons annually in 2050—that’s equivalent to taking 82.5 million passenger cars off the road.
While indirect PHEV emissions—those generated through electricity production—will vary according to the local electricity fuel mix used to recharge batteries, increasingly stringent power plant regulations and pending GHG reduction requirements will continue to cut emissions as PHEVs are introduced into the marketplace.
Oil Dependency/National Security
Today, the United States imports almost 60 percent of its oil—70 percent of which goes directly to the transportation sector.
According to the EPRI/NRDC study, PHEVs could reduce national oil consumption by as much as four million barrels per day in 2050.
While the electricity generation mix varies by region, more than 98 percent of U.S. electricity supplies are generated from coal, natural gas, nuclear energy, hydropower and other renewable resources, including wind and solar energy. Today, less than two percent of electricity generated in the United States comes from fuel oil.