At the Centennial, we heard a presentation from Mark DuVall of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) who discussed the relationship between the Volt and the power grid. Also presenting were GMs energy director Brita Gross and Volt vehicle line executive Frank Weber.

If was pointed out that daily charging of the Chevy Volt will increase the typical single family home electric usage by about 25%. The electric draw is less than that of a refrigerator/freezer or central air conditioning system.

If one takes peak charging rates of 80 cents/day, to drive 15,000 miles/year will work out to around $292 in total fuel costs. At off peak rates from ¼ to ½ of that it is possible to drive 15,000 miles per year for $73.

Furthermore the electric grid has ample capacity to handle this car. In fact Mr. Duvall stated that 10 million E-REVs will use less than 1% of the US electric grids total capacity.

And to answer one of the questions asked on this site, Version I of the Volt will not require data exchange to or from the utility company for charging.

Also aside from the financial benefits, there are obviously tremendous benefits to the country of not having to use imported fossil fuels, but being able to drive using the diverse portfolio of energy sources, coal, nuclear, natural gas, and renewables that our electric grid is powered through.