News & Press
In January, Tri-County EMC purchased the cooperative’s first electric vehicle, a Nissan Leaf. The car will be driven primarily by our energy services and communications staff. With a range of 140 miles on a charge, the car is easily capable of being driven across the co-op’s service territory or back and forth to district offices without recharging. It is also capable of being driven to Atlanta, recharging for the return trip home while the driver is in a meeting.
“It’s an exciting day for our cooperative,” commented Ray Grinberg, Tri-County’s CEO. “For the past year, we’ve been working on educational materials and demonstration days to help our members. So now was the right time to put an electric vehicle to work very day for the cooperative. It’s fun to drive and a great educational resource for our community, but also a great way to save money on fuel.”
While gasoline prices are at their lowest in several years, the cost per mile driven for a small to midsize electric sedan are still half that of a similar sized gas powered sedan getting 28 to 30 miles per gallon (mpg). Using mpg-e, a measurement developed by the U.S. Department of Energy to compare EVs to gasoline powered cars, that 28 mpg compares to about 113 mpg-e for the Nissan Leaf.
Based on a survey of nearly a thousand Tri-County EMC members, we learned that more than 75% of working commuters travel less than 60 miles round-trip each day. That distance easily fits into the range of every EV in production. It is also well within
the ability of the car to recharge overnight in your driveway or garage. (49371001)
To help you find out if an electric vehicle could fit into your garage or your lifestyle, we have resources to help. Our energy auditors can analyze your daily commuting needs and fuel costs to help you better understand just how easily EVs already make sense for you and your budget.
*Graph shows fuel costs per mile driven. 12.1 cents/kwh versus $2.00 per gallon.