At Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative, we work hard to stay on top of the ever-changing landscape of new technology. One of the most important technological innovations of the last few years has been electric vehicles, or "EVs." This technology has been evolving rapidly and stands to change the way that drivers will use their vehicles and the way that electric utilities will do business.

While infrastructure to support EVs locally (i.e. public charging stations) is not yet particularly developed in rural areas, adoption nationwide is growing. In the US last year, there were over 1 million electric cars on the road. As price continues to decrease, electric vehicles will become more accessible and commonplace.

It is inevitable that EVs will begin to become more prominent in our service territory. Because we provide the electricity people would need to use to power these vehicles, we want to begin to get a better sense of how EVs have already impacted our membership. For this reason, we’ve decided to invite members who already own EVs to share with us some details of their experience. Through the form below, we invite EV-driving members to fill out a short survey on their experience with EVs so far. If you drive an EV and have a couple of free minutes, we would greatly appreciate your input to help shape our policy for the future.

If you do not own an electric vehicle but are considering purchasing one or are just curious, we highly recommend you take a look at some of these great resources for more information:

• Electric Vehicle Basics - U.S. Department of Energy
• Information on Electric Vehicle Charging - U.S. Department of Energy
• Electric Vehicle Savings Calculator - ChargeEVC (for "avg. cost per kWhr," put our standard $0.109 rate)
• Browse Electric Cars - PlugStar
• Sales Tax Exemption on Zero Emission Vehicles - NJ Division of Taxation

Be sure to read our monthly newsletter Currents for more information on EVs and updates on an EV-specific rate. You can also follow our Facebook and Twitter pages for up-to-date information as it develops.