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nmgolfer and everyone who is thinking about 10 cent electricity,
Brace yourselves; we are in for some real surprises here if either we go to plug-ins in a big way or we impose a requirement on electric power generators to capture 'carbon'.
First, the electric motor efficiency has very little effect on the overall efficiency of operating a power system. The heat engine losses, wherever they occur, are the overwhelming cause of loss in any system.
Second, the cheap electricity that we now enjoy is anchored by the price of coal under any stable governmental system, thus excluding California where we give 11 to 13 cent electricity to most of us at the welfare level of use called 'baseline' usage. For those who really need electricity the price jumps to 29 cents, then 30 cents, then 50 cents. For all of us, that first welfare handout comes at the expense of those who use a lot of electricity. I suggest that when the people of Bakersfield figure out that their air conditioners are no longer affordable, they will be sharpening their pitchforks for our government.
And when the fact that the EVs charged at night in Portola Valley (not a low rent district) will be using power at welfare level pricing, that could be used for running air conditioners in Bakersfield, we might reasonably expect discontent to be expressed.
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