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Filed under: Government/Legal, Technology, Chevrolet, Electric

2011 Chevrolet Volt - Click above for high-res image gallery

The onslaught of electric vehicles expected to hit the market over the next five years, such as the Chevrolet Volt (pictured above), is keeping many local power utilities up at night. The dilemma has to do with the power supply - more specifically, how to feed the increased demand on the grid down to the household level.

There isn't really a shortage of power, experts say. However, while your electric company has built the infrastructure to keep your microwave, HDTV and computer all running simultaneously without dimming the kitchen lights, an anticipated flood of innovative all-electric cars concurrently guzzling electrons off the system in private garages may lead to household circuit breakers tripping and street corner transformers burning out.

Not to worry, say the utilities. While it is a challenge that they must address, there is something working in their favor... cost. As is often the case with new technologies, the high selling price of the early all-electric cars (expected to hit $40,000 or more... or less) allows the power companies to anticipate which neighborhoods need upgrading first - now, that's electrifying insight.

Gallery: 2011 Chevy Volt

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Report: Power companies need to upgrade grid to prepare for electric cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[loki]

does this mean all of our infrastructure is... infra. lol we don't have 1mb+ internet everywhere, our roads, mainly bridges need lots of help, now our power grid?!!
fail.... i guess.

[Oldsmoboi]

Keep cutting taxes on the "rich", you know the people who create jobs by investing in roads and infrastructure....


Oh wait, they're too tied up in ponzi schemes and job offshoring that just get themselves richer at the expense of the rest of us.

[Paolino]

Hmmm... if a thunderstorm knocked out the power in the northeast a few years ago, someone plugging in a Volt should at least kill 1 county, no?

This post has been edited by Paolino: 22 January 2010 - 11:49 PM

[CSpec]

Thank God people at the utilities know something about economics. Price as an indicator for the win, not government-mandated "fairness".

[regfootball]

wait, i am just catching up. you mean the greenies and ecoweenies haven't ponied up all the money for this electrical infrastructure upgrade yet? i thought it was supposed to be easy?