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(WQOW)- Xcel Energy is working to get 1.5 million electric vehicles on the road in the next 10 years, helping both the environment and your wallet.
Xcel announced its new electric vehicle vision Wednesday to have 20% of vehicles in the communities it serves be electric by 2030. This exceeds the City of Eau Claire’s goal to have at least 8,000 or roughly 10% of registered vehicles be electric in 10 years.
Xcel officials said by going electric, carbon emissions can be reduced up to five million tons per year by 2030, an 80% drop in emissions for each vehicle. They said you could also see $700 dollars in fuel savings every year.
“Customers save a lot of money by reducing their overall cost for gasoline,” said Brian Elwood, general manager of customer and community service. “We see it as a real savings for customers, particularly customers who can benefit from some of the advantages of owning an electric vehicle.”
Elwood said by charging up at certain times of the day, you could power an electric vehicle at a cost equivalent to 70 cents per gallon of gasoline.
Xcel officials hope to invest $300 million to encourage people to make the switch, by increasing access to charging, and through special programs and partnerships. For instance, Elwood said the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin plans to roll out a program this year to significantly reduce the cost of installing vehicle charging stations for homes and businesses.