EV plans

[Peter Ward]

We recently switched to Red Energy's EV user plan...in a nutshell, a $0 tariff from midnight to 2.00pm on weekends.

The $2.00 vehicle charging fee on the attached Tesla screen grab is actually $0...the app will only let you enter in a minimum of 1 cent per Kw/Hr

Our EV car has sufficient range (~500km) when fully charged to avoid charging during the week.

If you have an EV, this plan is worth investigating.

[rat156]

Hi Peter,

I'm using OVO's EV plan, 5c discount from their off-peak rate for midnight to 5 am. Unfortunately I do around 120 km/day, so I must charge during the week. I setup the charging period for between midnight and 5am, the app I'm using will also draw from the Powerwall if it has sufficient charge, so that's costing nothing, but even when it doesn't, the rate is 13.55 c/kwh, subtract the solar input tarrif (I generally export more than the EV consumes) and I'm back to 5.55 c/kwh. I use about 16.5 kwh/day, so that's costing me less than $1 to drive to work and back in electricity, so not too bad. Of course you have to add the 2.2c/km that the Vic government charge to use the roads, so it comes to about $3.6 all in. Compared to an ICE vehicle at 10 l/100 km and $2.20/l, a whopping $26.40/day. The car will pay for itself in about 10-11 years at this rate. about the same turnaround for the 10 kw solar and battery system.

I'll do the maths and see if I should get the long range and do as you are doing, especially with the prospect of FBT free salary sacrifice in the offing.

Cheers
Stu

[Peter Ward]

Ah, yes...forgot they slipped that one in down in Mexico.

The fact of the matter is the fuel excise NEVER went to roads.
It goes into general revenue, and given the number of pot-holes around Sydney (aka Toll Road central) the $$ clearly do not go from general revenue to roads in my neck of the woods :rolleyes:

North of the border they are also making noises about "road use" levies.
Lord knows, with 1.5% of all vehicles registered as EV's, the system is in risk of imminent collapse! (yeah, right.....)

Even that would be fine if I were not already paying a toll many of Sydney's roads...but to also tax toll road use? WTF? :mad2::mad2:

But for now, I'm delighted to have a zero energy cost for running 'de wheels.

Just Rego, insurance and maybe the occasional set of tyres. As Scotty from
marketing liked to say: "how good is that?" :)

[rat156]

Yeah, I'm also happy to pay the 2.2c a km, it's bugger all in the long run and even into general revenue some of that goes to building/fixing roads. Clearly it is impractical not to collect on toll roads, but as they know that the vehicle is an EV and they know the length of the road, the toll road operator could discount the tolls for EVs? But then everyone else would want their fuel excise back as well, so also impractical.

I'm sure you'll be getting a road user charge in the near future as well, if they're talking about it then they are just waiting until the optics are better to introduce it. Silly thing is that Vic gov't also discount my rego by $100, so they lose the first 5k km basically.

Cheers
Stu

[The_bluester]

This thread made me wonder how they apply it here in Vic so I had a look.

It might be a relatively low cost but it is perhaps a little "cheeky" that you pay a tax in Vic for using interstate roads. Probably no great issue for most but not so great if you do a lot of interstate travel (Regular Melbourne to Sydney runs for example with over half the trip being interstate)

[rat156]

Same as for fuel if you fill up at the border. The only difference is of course one is a state tax the other is a federal one.

So far this year, since March, I'm up to 15k km, so about $350, works out at $2 /week roughly, small price to pay.

Cheers
Stu

[The_bluester]

True enough (That it is a relatively small price) but it still strikes me as cheeky and less than honest to pay a Victoria specific "Road user" tax, to drive on roads outside Victoria. It would get up my nose for instance to pay several hundred to the Vic government to go on a round Australia holiday.

Regardless of where the money eventually goes, this is another of those things which should be national IMO (And there does have to be some sort of cost to using the roads regardless of how the accounting is done)