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It might be necessary to tax electric cars to provide sufficient funds to expand the national grid and establish power stations. Energy firms are warning that electric cars could be a source for power cuts.

According to a recent calculation from an analyst at Saturn Energy a tax of 10 pence per mile would be required to account for the extra demand of energy.

It has already been predicted by the Climate Change Committee that by 2020, 1.7 million electric cars will be driving on Britain’s roads.

Experts confirmed that the National Grid is under pressure to provide enough electricity for Britain’s current needs. There would be a need for a rapid modernization to handle a rise in the volume of electric cars circulating in the country.

It was also suggested that electricity should be prices as much as petrol. This is certainly a negative factor for individuals who are buying electric cars for the sake of saving money.

The tax of 10 pence per mile could provide an amount of £1.7 billion a year. Assuming that the money is held for expanding energy capacity, it would be enough to establish 2 gas-fired power stations, 1 nuclear plant or as much as 10,000 new wind turbines per annum.

Unfortunately, the government will probably associate the tax to the general basket of expenditure. This would mean a less that optimum investment in energy capacity.

On the other side, experts are citing that electric vehicles are currently much less efficient than diesel engines even when the traditional power generation and environmental cost have been included.

John McShane who is the managing director of Saturn Energy says, “The running costs of an electric car, if you can afford one, look attractive…” It will cost around two pence to drive a mile in contrast to a typical car, which would cost 12 pence for the same distance.

However, the ramification of having millions of electric cars on the road would be the shortage of power and the need to build new power stations. The solution could be to increase price of electricity via a tax. If the cost of electricity for these cars would be increased, to the same cost as petrol than this money could be used for energy expansion.

The economy is current unstable, and it is only the government who can ensure that investment in renewable energy takes-off.

McShane admits that introducing a tax would decrease the incentive for buying an electric car, nonetheless, it would ensure less greenhouse emissions and electricity to businesses and households.

Source: Telegraph