Exactly one year ago, Nettavisen wrote an article about the cost of electricity before it was more expensive to drive an electric car than a petrol car.
At that time, prices recently exceeded 1 kroner. In this case, we took into account that the price of electricity, including network rental, could reach NOK 4. We considered anything higher as unrealistic.
After one year, the price in the southwestern country for the first time passes 10 NOK. Fuel prices have also risen sharply in some cases.
Provides you with energy support – at home
At the same time that prices have doubled since then, electricity subsidies are also coming into play. When it improves sharply from September, it is almost “impossible” for the price of electricity to be higher than it was in our original estimate.
With an electricity subsidy of 90 percent, even with an electricity price of around NOK 40, you’ll get as little as NOK 5.
Read also: This is how much electricity costs with the new electricity subsidy at 90%
This is still very expensive, but this means that the cost of electricity is about the same as the cost of fuel, with a liter of about NOK 22
- Gasoline: 20 NOK x 0.6 liters per mile = 12 NOK per mile
- Electricity: Total electricity price NOK 5 x 2 kWh per mile + 15 percent charge loss = NOK 11.5 per mile
(Note! These are approximations only. Consumption and prices vary a lot sometimes)
You have to charge more than you will use
In the charging process itself, some electricity is lost in, among other things, heat loss, so that you have to pay for some electricity that you cannot use. This charge loss can be typical 10-25 percent, depending on the vehicle and charging power.
If you are going to fill the battery with 10 kWh of electricity, with a 15 percent charge loss, you should actually buy 11.5 kWh.
But what about the cabin?
On the other hand, if you take a trip to the cab or somewhere else that doesn’t benefit from an electricity subsidy, with today’s prices, filling an electric car with electricity is getting very expensive.
The average electricity price in southwestern Norway last week was NOK 6.86, while it was NOK 5.64 in eastern and western Norway. In addition, there is an online rental for about 40 øre.
This means that prices are roughly at the same level as the cost of express and light shipping currently:
- Circle K: 6.79 NOK per kWh
- Recharge: 7.49 NOK per kWh
- More: 6.39 NOK per kilowatt-hour
This week, it looks like electricity prices will rise further, in the worst case we will exceed 10 NOK per kWh.
In the table below you can see the price of a mile with the difference in consumption and electricity prices:
| Total Electricity Price | Consumption/mileage | Price per mile | Price per mile including shipping loss |
| 4.00 NOK | 1.5 | 6.00 NOK | 6.90 NOK |
| 6.00 NOK | 1.5 | 9.00 NOK | NOK 10.35.00 |
| 8.00 NOK | 1.5 | 12.00 NOK | NOK 13.80.000 |
| 10.00 NOK | 1.5 | 15.00 NOK | 17.25 NOK |
| 12.00 NOK | 1.5 | 18.00 NOK | 20.70 NOK |
| 4.00 NOK | 2 | 8.00 NOK | NOK 9.20.00 |
| 6.00 NOK | 2 | 12.00 NOK | NOK 13.80 * |
| 8.00 NOK | 2 | 16.00 NOK | 18.40 NOK |
| 10.00 NOK | 2 | 20.00 NOK | 23.00 NOK |
| 12.00 NOK | 2 | 24.00 NOK | 27.60 NOK |
| 4.00 NOK | 2.5 | 10.00 NOK | 11.50 NOK |
| 6.00 NOK | 2.5 | 15.00 NOK | 17.25 NOK |
| 8.00 NOK | 2.5 | 20.00 NOK | 23.00 NOK |
| 10.00 NOK | 2.5 | 25.00 NOK | NOK 28.75.000 |
| 12.00 NOK | 2.5 | 30.00 NOK | 34.50 NOK |
* The most representative number given the current situation and an average vehicle.
For comparison, this is the cost of pure fuel for a gasoline and diesel car:
| pump price | Consumption/mileage | Price per mile |
| 18.00 NOK | 0.4 | NOK 7.20.00 |
| 20.00 NOK | 0.4 | 8.00 NOK |
| 22.00 NOK | 0.4 | 8.80 NOK |
| 24.00 NOK | 0.4 | NOK 9.60.0000 |
| 18.00 NOK | 0.6 | NOK 10,800.000 |
| 20.00 NOK | 0.6 | 12.00 NOK |
| 22.00 NOK | 0.6 | NOK 13.20 * |
| 24.00 NOK | 0.6 | 14.40 NOK |
| 18.00 NOK | 0.8 | 14.40 NOK |
| 20.00 NOK | 0.8 | 16.00 NOK |
| 22.00 NOK | 0.8 | 17.60 NOK |
| 24.00 NOK | 0.8 | NOK 19.20.0000 |
| 18.00 NOK | 1 | 18.00 NOK |
| 20.00 NOK | 1 | 20.00 NOK |
| 22.00 NOK | 1 | 22.00 NOK |
| 24.00 NOK | 1 | 24.00 NOK |
* The most representative figure given today’s pump prices and average car.
As we can see, the prices for gasoline and electricity are more or less the same. Coincidences in the price of the pump at the time you fill up, and when you charge the car for the day, can somehow flip the numbers.
On the other hand, if electricity prices remain at the level at which they start this week, then gasoline will be the cheapest option.
Fuel is only a small part of the total cost
However, this does not mean that it is necessarily cheaper to own a gasoline-powered car if electricity prices continue to rise.
The reason is that fuel is a relatively small cost in the big picture, whether it’s an electric car or a car with a combustion engine. The Council on Road Traffic Information (OFV) calculates total vehicle costs for relatively new vehicles each year.
Their calculations show that fuel typically accounts for about 5-20 percent of the total costs of owning and using a vehicle, depending on the type of vehicle you have.
This is how expensive it really is to use a car
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