Driving for the Common Good, An Electric Vehicle Owner’s Story

(The following column originally appeared in the September 2012 edition of Metering International magazine)

It was a typical sunny southern California day when I pulled out of the Nissan dealership in San Diego.  I had just picked up my new plug-in electric Nissan Leaf with less than 100 miles on it, and I was feeling particularly pleased driving the first new car of my life.  I stopped at a red light and was adjusting my shiny new mirrors, when my car got rear-ended.  As I pulled over to see who was responsible, the culprit took off and made a run for it.

Perhaps it was blind anger that someone had just spoiled my wife’s first drive in my new car that fueled me as I set off after him in hot pursuit – at about 30 miles per hour.  I called 911 and followed the driver from a distance for a couple miles until he spotted me.  He then stopped in the middle of the road, got out of his car, and began to punch and kick my brand new car.  He tried to open my door, and I fought to keep it shut and him out.  I managed to lock the door, and he retreated to his car.  Then the unthinkable happened; he got in his car and rammed me!  When he went down a side street and looked as if he was preparing to come at me again, I drove off to wait for the police. 

I had been on the phone with the police the whole time.  When they found me, I told them what happened, and they caught the guy with the help of a helicopter.  When I drove back to the dealer, the mechanics couldn’t believe the damage.  They asked me what happened.  I pointed up in the sky and said “Do you see that helicopter circling overhead?  I’ve just been in the first ever car chase with an electric vehicle!”

Being in the first plug-in electric vehicle low speed chase was not why I bought my Leaf.  The main reason was the political situation in the Middle East and our dependence on that region for our gasoline.  I wanted to act locally and do my part to work toward energy independence.  I realized that I could do something fundamentally American by exercising a conscious choice to stop sending my money overseas to regimes that really don’t like us very much.  While I appreciate the green aspect of an electric vehicle, being red, white, and blue is even more important to me.

I also was inspired by the green and sustainable principles inherent in the electric vehicle revolution.  More than 1.5 metric tons of emissions are removed from the atmosphere each year for every 1,000 passenger cars replaced by plug-in electric vehicle.  This savings transcends the political, helping to keep the air clean for people everywhere.  The world is getting smaller and pollution knows no borders; I feel empowered by my decision to invest in a more sustainable means of transit to protect this world we share.  Every day, I meet people who tell me they are inspired by my choice and want to learn more.  I am proud that my relatively small act of choosing an electric vehicle (EV) has positive effects that contribute to a better future.

Choosing an electric vehicle also results in significant cost savings.  San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E), my employer, has more than 1,600 plug-in electric vehicles in its area and offers owners three experimental EV rates that save customers money when they charge their vehicles at off-peak hours, when energy costs are lowest and capacity is plentiful.  My average electric bill has decreased by 10 percent because I’ve chosen an EV Time of Use (TOU) rate for my whole house and moved additional chores, such as doing the laundry and dishes, to off-peak hours.  By using power when the grid has more energy available, we are enhancing the reliability of the grid and saving money in the process.  It’s one more reason electric vehicles make a lot of sense in California.

It’s also fantastic not to worry about the price of gas anymore.  I drive past my neighborhood pump and don’t know what the going rate is – and don’t want to.  Occasionally, there is a long trip I have to take that requires me to use a standard car; but for commuting, I am covered by the electric vehicle’s range of about 70 miles per charge. 

As if the benefits I’ve described aren’t enough, it turns out that these vehicles are quite sporty and provide a fun drive, more like a sports car than an economy car.  My main problem is negotiating with my wife for who gets the chance to drive it! 

I will add one final thought for the future.  As our electricity evolves into a new “smart grid” format, we are going to need to figure out how to integrate a lot more intermittent renewable energy, which can fluctuate greatly.  One day, when we have hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles in operation, we will leverage their batteries when they’re not in use to balance out variable renewable energy supply in real time.  Electric vehicles, due to their powerful onboard batteries, are the most flexible energy load and supply we have.  While we are not there yet, I am looking forward to the day when we not only wean ourselves off foreign supplies of oil, but we also support the smart grid with the incredible capacity for good that is inherent in the technological advances of the electric vehicle. 

If I had to experience a car chase to reach that milestone, I will have done so gladly.

Lee Krevat is director of smart grid initiatives at San Diego Gas & Electric’s (SDG&E), which has launched one of the most ambitious and comprehensive smart grid deployment programs in the nation.  Krevat has been named one of the top smart grid experts in the nation by several publications, including GreenTech Media, Intelligent Utility Magazine and FierceSmartGrid.  Before joining SDG&E, Krevat led several software development teams at Tandem Computers.  Krevat earned a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics and computer science from Carnegie Mellon University.