by Nova Obin

Created on: September 03, 2008   Last Updated: September 04, 2008

Investing in electric utilities

As much as Dunkin Donuts want us to think differently, the world runs on profit, not Dunkin. And the electric industry generates millions and millions of profit every year. Electricity is a huge part of how will live in America and the world, and a growing business ripe for investment. First, it is important to know that electric cars are not a myth or some brand new technology. A historic ahead-of-its time car was the EV-1 from General Motors (GM). Although the car was discontinued, the idea is being revived and perfected. 100% electric cars are now a reality.

If the average cost of kilowatts per hour is $ 00.10 and a car requires 10 hours of charge, the cost of charging per night is $ 1.00 per customer. Plus, the average cost per mile to drive a 100 percent electric car is about 3.7 cents, making it over 3 times cheaper than gas, a huge incentive for customers. Another incentive is the ease of use. Consumers can come home, plug in their car to their regular electric company, and have a ready to go car in the morning.

Now imagine huge cities like California, New York, or Washington DC, filled with cars that use electricity. Lets say that one night of charging costs the consumer about 1 dollar, and cost the electric company 20 cents. So, that's a profit of 80 cents, per person, per night. So, if 1 million people in Washington DC use an electric car that is 800,000 dollars of profit per night. And this number will only grow as more people transfer to electric cars.

As gas and oil prices continue to rise, we will look to other sources off fuel, because it will make good business sense. America will begin to change when it is profitable to do so. Right now we can still deal with high oil prices, continue to drive our gas-fueled vehicles, because hybrids and electric car are seen as too expensive, not worth the investment. But more and more people are turning to hybrids and electric cars. And when gas hits 5 dollars a gallon, 6 dollars, 7 dollars? The once over-expensive electric cars will begin to look cheaper and cheaper. And as more people begin to use electric cars, more people will need electricity from their homes t o power them. More people buy electric cars, and then use more electricity every night. People will turn down the air conditioning and turn off electronics to save on electric bills, but every morning they need their car charged up and ready to go.

Electric cars are the future of transportation. Hydrogen has been looked to as a new fuel source, but it requires costly fuel station, and would not be possible for at least 5 years, probably more. Electric cars can use the existing electric gird, and the existing electric companies can power these cars through consumer's homes, saving consumers money on gas, and moving profit from oil companies to electric companies. So, investing in the electric business is investing in the future source of energy. It is investing in a business that can only continue to grow, as electric cars become a cheaper and more accessible way to travel.

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