Costs of running a Model S

[CCT]

I'm wondering what the annual Vehicle License fee is for the Model S in HK. According to the Transport Department, the fee for "Electrically Powered Passenger Vehicle not exceeding one tonne unladen weight" is $440. Is this the fee we pay for a pure electric private car?

Also, what are the costs for charging the Model S at home/residential parking lot, i.e. electricity by CLP/HK Electric? According to CLP's website:

Effective 1 Jan 2014, the Average Basic Tariff is 88.4 cents/unit and the Fuel Clause Charge is 22.4 cents/unit, so the Average Total Tariff is 110.8 cents/unit.

Since 1 unit = 1kWh, does it mean that to fully charge up the the 85kWh Model S from empty, it'd cost me $1.108 x 85 = $94.18?

From what I understood, it is mostly free to charge at public charging stations operated by CLP/HK Electric as they are subsidised by the government at the moment. I guess we really should make use of them whenever we can then?

 

[ThosEM]

That's the highest cost of electricity I've ever seen or heard of. Are you sure?

Our cost in Maryland is roughly equal to the cost of energy as gasoline or a bit higher (USD4.00 per gal / 33.3 kWh per gal = USD0.012/kWh). Our power company, Baltimore Gas and Electric, has a proposal at the Utilities Commission for an EV rate structure that would cut rates when taken off peak demand at night, perhaps to half or less. But unfortunately, they are also proposing to more or less double the peak power rate. With an electric home, including heat pump HVAC, hot water and cooking, and electric resistance backup heat, we are not going to agree to a big rate increase on our primary usage to get a lower rate on our relatively small BEV charging cost. I would have expected a cut rate to make use of power freed up by low demand at night, and am very disappointed at this.

What rates and rate structures are others encountering when charging your Model S?

 

[AudubonB]

That's the highest cost of electricity I've ever seen or heard of. Are you sure?

He is using HK dollars - equal to US$0.13 (7.7 to the dollar). So HK$1.108 is equal to 14.4 US cents/kWh - very close to the US average.

Now, for the HIGHEST electricity costs - our minuscule Alaskan community, even though it's on the road system, takes the cake. Unlike most AK villages, we receive no compensatory subsidy, and our late and absolutely unlamented local provider whacked us with $4.15/kWh rates three years ago....all rebelled and they brought it all the way down to $2.25/kWh.
Oh, and the quality of the electricity was terrifying: Hz from 52 to 69; nominal 110 voltages actually were from mid-90s up to 132, and blackouts without warning several times every week. So I was shelling out over ten thousand (US) dollars each year for the privilege of frying compressors, electronics, resistive elements....

...pretty easy now to see why I built my own PV electric + battery plant!

 

[CCT]

He is using HK dollars - equal to US$0.13 (7.7 to the dollar). So HK$1.108 is equal to 14.4 US cents/kWh - very close to the US average.

Now, for the HIGHEST electricity costs - our minuscule Alaskan community, even though it's on the road system, takes the cake. Unlike most AK villages, we receive no compensatory subsidy, and our late and absolutely unlamented local provider whacked us with $4.15/kWh rates three years ago....all rebelled and they brought it all the way down to $2.25/kWh.

Okay, so I guess the rates here in HK make sense to me now.

AudubonB, US$2.25/kWh is OUTRAGES!!! Why the rip-off over there in Alaska!? You're making me feel HK$94.18 (US$12)/full charge is actually dirt cheap...

 

[AudubonB]

CCT - our community's situation is unique. For example, when I moved to this site in the 1990s, I reconciled myself to paying about 1.5X what I was paying in the state's second-largest city, Fairbanks. That $2.25 number is now TEN TIMES Fairbanks's rate! (And remember, for a time it went up to $4.15!!!).

The rip-off is complex but one of several reasons is that the state's regulatory oversight unit told us, simply, they weren't going to bother dealing with us and our situation. Lovely. But also remember I wrote "our LATE and UNLAMENTED provider". They finally crumbled from their own greed: every last customer left and went on his own power.

 

[astrotoy]

Okay, so I guess the rates here in HK make sense to me now.

AudubonB, US$2.25/kWh is OUTRAGES!!! Why the rip-off over there in Alaska!? You're making me feel HK$94.18 (US$12)/full charge is actually dirt cheap...

How much would it cost to fill up a big Benz or BMW in HK? As I remember, gasoline (petrol) is not cheap in HK. Thanks.

 

[CCT]

AudubonB, is your PV system able to generate enough power for all your household needs AND your Model S? Was it expensive to build? That sounds awesome if it solves your power issue in the long-term. Most of us in HK live in apartment buildings so your solution cannot be applied here unfortunately.

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How much would it cost to fill up a big Benz or BMW in HK? As I remember, gasoline (petrol) is not cheap in HK. Thanks.

It's around HK$16/litre for regular unleaded. So as an example: a Mercedes E-class has 59-litre tank, so $16 x 59 = $944.

 

[AudubonB]

Extremely expensive to build. Just the battery bank is about US$50K. But I'd spent too much time in earlier years doing what most of Bush Alaska does: living off 24/7 diesel generators, and I was determined not to go that route.

 

[yobigd20]

Our cost in Maryland is roughly equal to the cost of energy as gasoline or a bit higher (USD4.00 per gal / 33.3 kWh per gal = USD0.012/kWh).

I don't understand your description here."Our cost in Maryland is roughly equal to the cost of energy as gasoline or a bit higher". It sounds like your saying that it costs more to "fill up" the Model S than it would to fill up an equivalent ICE car. I don't know about you, but at $0.12/kW * 85kW = $10.20. And the last time I filled up my car was 18 gallons * $4.00/gallon = $72. Cost of driving an EV is a fraction of the cost of driving an ICE.

 

[markwj]

I'm wondering what the annual Vehicle License fee is for the Model S in HK. According to the Transport Department, the fee for "Electrically Powered Passenger Vehicle not exceeding one tonne unladen weight" is $440. Is this the fee we pay for a pure electric private car?

Transport Department - Fees Charges

HK$440 for first ton, plus HK$95 for each additional 250kg, plus HK$114 TAVA. Weighing in at 2.1 metric tons, that comes out to HK$1029/year. A comparable 3litre petrol car would be HK$7664/year.

Budget is coming in a week, and these may change.

 

[markwj]

Also, what are the costs for charging the Model S at home/residential parking lot, i.e. electricity by CLP/HK Electric? According to CLP's website:

Effective 1 Jan 2014, the Average Basic Tariff is 88.4 cents/unit and the Fuel Clause Charge is 22.4 cents/unit, so the Average Total Tariff is 110.8 cents/unit.

Since 1 unit = 1kWh, does it mean that to fully charge up the the 85kWh Model S from empty, it'd cost me $1.108 x 85 = $94.18?

From what I understood, it is mostly free to charge at public charging stations operated by CLP/HK Electric as they are subsidised by the government at the moment. I guess we really should make use of them whenever we can then?

Your calculations are correct, except for efficiency. There are losses in charging (cooling, heating, wiring, conversion, etc). A ballpark figure would be around 15% to 30% extra (depending on winter/summer and charging current).

Public charging is mostly free at the moment, but slow at 220V 13A.

P.S. As a very rough estimate, tracking what I put into my roadster for a year vs kilometers driven, it worked out about 1/4 the fuel cost of the Prius it replaced. 50% of that is the efficiency, 50% is the tax on petrol.

 

[CCT]

Oh yea, forgot about the efficiency part. Thanks.

 

[CCT]

Any ideas on how the cancellation of electricity subsidies proposed in the Budget would affect our costs for charging?

 

[Lerxt]

Virtually nothing. It will cost about $90 to fill a charge with an 85KWH battery. They could double the price and it would be cheap.